The Timberwolves offense had been humming for the last week, but a Heat team that was without Jimmy Butler ground them down Sunday night. Then some late-game miscues resulted in a 95-94 loss to Miami at Target Center.
The Wolves couldn’t overcome an 8-for-24 night night from Anthony Edwards, who finished with 24 points. They were in position to win late, but couldn’t close the game in the final minute.
The Wolves were ahead 92-90 when Mike Conley and Julius Randle couldn’t connect on a pass, which led to a breakaway for Heat guard Terry Rozier. After a Jaden McDaniels foul, Rozier hit both free throws to tie the score 92-92 with 30 seconds left.
Conley missed a three, but McDaniels came in from the right side for a flying putback with 9 seconds left. He hit the bucket and drew a foul on Haywood Highsmith. Miami, which was without Butler because of a sprained ankle suffered Friday, challenged the play to contend the foul and officials overturned it, but the basket stood.
After a Miami timeout, disaster hit for the Wolves. Nikola Jovic got free on a screen and Nickeil Alexander-Walker fouled him as he hit a layup. That gave the Heat a 95-94 lead with 7.8 seconds to play.
Just before the play, Chris Finch subbed out center Rudy Gobert and put in a small lineup with Conley back on the floor.
Miami set the tone early with its hustle on the defensive end and ability to run in transition in the first quarter. The Heat held Edwards to 2-for-9 in the first quarter and capitalized on the Wolves’ 7-for-25 shooting performance to get nine fast-break points. This gave Miami a 27-20 lead after the first.
