Anthony Edwards, Wolves overtake Heat in 4th

Field Level Media|published: Mon 18th December, 22:15 2023

Dec 18, 2023; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat forward Haywood Highsmith (24) blocks the shot of Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) during the first half at Kaseya Center. credits: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Anthony Edwards scored 10 of his game-high 32 points in the fourth quarter as the Minnesota Timberwolves rallied to beat the host Miami Heat 112-108 on Monday.

The Heat led by as many as 17 points in the first half.

Miami lost despite seeing Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo return to action. Herro, who missed 18 games due to an ankle injury, scored a team-high 25 points. Adebayo, who sat out seven games because of a hip injury, posted 22 points, six rebounds and a team-high six assists.

Edwards, who scored 37 points on Saturday against the Indiana Pacers, made 13 of 25 shots at Miami and added eight rebounds and five assists.

Karl-Anthony Towns, who scored 40 points vs. Indiana, scored 18 against the Heat. He also added eight rebounds as the Timberwolves won for the ninth time in 10 games.

Rudy Gobert scored just nine points for Minnesota, but he made a major impact on defense, altering numerous shots. He finished with a game-high 16 rebounds to go with two blocks and two steals.

The Timberwolves also got 15 points from reserve Naz Reid.

Besides Herro and Adebayo, Miami got 15 points, five rebounds and five assists from Jimmy Butler.

Herro and Adebayo scored 15 of Miami's first 19 points as the Heat raced to a 33-22 first-quarter lead. Herro had 10 points and Adebayo had seven in the period. As a team, Miami shot 52 percent from the floor while Minnesota shot 45.5 percent in the opening 12 minutes.

The Heat shot 66.7 percent in the second quarter — including 3-for-6 on 3-pointers — to go into the break with a 66-54 advantage. Herro led all first-half scorers with 17 points, while Edwards topped Minnesota with 15.

Edwards hit a fadeaway jumper at the third-quarter buzzer, cutting Minnesota's deficit to 83-77. Minnesota outscored the Heat 29-17, making it Miami's lowest-scoring third quarter of the season. The Heat shot just 36.8 percent in the third.

Minnesota surged ahead with 8:37 left in the fourth as Mike Conley drained a 3-pointer for an 87-84 lead. The Timberwolves cruised from there as Miami got outscored in the fourth quarter for the fifth straight game. The Heat are 3-2 in that span.

—Field Level Media

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