October 22, 2026 at 5:56 AM UTC

Postgame Report

Edwards scores 45 as Timberwolves flatten Heat on opening night

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Anthony Edwards had 45 points and Minnesota pulled away early in a 131-106 win at Kaseya Center, spoiling Giannis Antetokounmpo's Heat debut on ESPN.

The Heat got the stage they wanted on Wednesday night, a nationally televised opener at Kaseya Center with the lights turned up in South Beach. The Minnesota Timberwolves took it from them, 131-106. It was a 25-point result that stopped being a contest long before the final minutes, and the home crowd had plenty of time to think about it.

Giannis Antetokounmpo's first regular-season game in a Heat uniform, the one Miami fans had been waiting months for, was good on his end. He scored 35 points in 30 minutes and grabbed six rebounds. He had little help around him. Davion Mitchell put up 11 points and 11 assists for a double-double, and Bam Adebayo added 15 points and seven rebounds. Klay Thompson scored 10 in 16 minutes, but the Heat never found a second source of pressure to go with Antetokounmpo.

Minnesota's new look worked right away. Anthony Edwards led all scorers with 45 points and added 10 rebounds and three assists, his own double-double, in 33 minutes. LaMelo Ball, newly acquired and playing next to him for the first time in a real game, scored 21 with six assists. Jaden McDaniels had 17 points and eight rebounds, and Ayo Dosunmu came off the bench for 16. The Edwards-Adebayo billing never quite materialized, because only one of them controlled the night.

The Wolves' question coming in was size, with Jonathan Kuminga in the starting five and no obvious bulk behind Rudy Gobert. Gobert answered it with 15 rebounds, though only five points, and rookie Joan Beringer added six boards in 14 minutes. Adebayo played after missing the last three preseason games with right groin tightness, and he moved without any visible trouble. Donte DiVincenzo was out, and Goldin, listed as questionable, did not play.

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