Edwards scores 45 as Timberwolves beat Heat 131-106

Anthony Edwards took 17 threes on Wednesday night and made nine. He finished with 45 points and 10 rebounds, and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Miami Heat 131-106 at the Kaseya Center in the season opener for both teams.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 35 for Miami on 13-of-19 shooting and made 9 of 14 free throws. The game was tied seven times and the lead changed hands seven times, all of it in the first half.

Edwards made 16 of 29 shots and 4 of 5 free throws in 33 minutes, and Minnesota were plus-25 with him on the floor.

The first half

Antetokounmpo scored the first basket of the game, a 16-foot pull-up, and the Heat led 4-0. Edwards answered with a 26-foot three. The teams were tied at 17 when Minnesota scored eight straight, and the Timberwolves led 34-32 after one quarter.

Miami tied it three more times in the second quarter, the last at 47 with 5:54 left in the half, and went ahead 50-47. Minnesota answered with eight in a row and led 69-59 at halftime.

The third quarter

Edwards hit a step-back three from 26 feet at 10:34 for a 72-59 lead and another 26-footer at 9:47 for 78-61. Miami answered with nine straight to get within 78-70 with 7:47 left.

Edwards stopped it. He hit from 28 feet at 6:24 for 82-70 and from 25 feet on a step-back at 5:38 for 85-72. Minnesota won the quarter 30-22 and opened the fourth with eight straight points, and it was 104-81 with 10:50 left. The lead reached 30 at 123-93.

The numbers

Minnesota made 21 of 50 threes. Miami made 8 of 33. The Timberwolves out-rebounded the Heat 52-34 and had 17 offensive rebounds to Miami's four. Rudy Gobert had 15 rebounds, and Jaden McDaniels scored 17 on 8-of-11 shooting. LaMelo Ball scored 21 with five threes and six assists, and Ayo Dosunmu added 16 off the bench.

Miami scored 54 points in the paint to Minnesota's 38 and had 18 fast-break points. Bam Adebayo scored 15, and Davion Mitchell had 11 points and 11 assists. The crowd was 19,837.

What it means

Miami did most of its damage inside: 54 points in the paint, and Antetokounmpo's 35 all came on twos and free throws, with both of his threes missed. Minnesota took 50 threes and made 21, and Edwards and Ball made 14 of them between them. Minnesota outscored Miami 63-24 from three, a 39-point gap in a 25-point game.

Scoring

Scoring: Minnesota 131-106 Miami (Wednesday)

Minnesota: Anthony Edwards 45, LaMelo Ball 21, Jaden McDaniels 17, Ayo Dosunmu 16, Jonathan Kuminga 12, Terrence Shannon Jr. 10, Rudy Gobert 5, Bones Hyland 3, Trey Lyles 1, Jaylen Clark 1, Cody Williams 0, Isaiah Evans 0, Joan Beringer 0.

Miami: Giannis Antetokounmpo 35, Bam Adebayo 15, Andrew Wiggins 11, Davion Mitchell 11, Klay Thompson 10, Bobby Portis 7, Myron Gardner 4, Nikola Jović 4, Nick Richards 4, Tim Hardaway Jr. 3, Pelle Larsson 2, Simone Fontecchio 0, Ryan Conwell 0.

By quarter: Minnesota 34, 35, 30, 32. Miami 32, 27, 22, 25.

What is next

Minnesota play at Orlando on Friday, October 23, at 7 p.m. ET. Miami host Detroit the same night at 8 p.m.

The rest of the night: Wednesday's NBA roundup.