Anthony Edwards shook off a pregame injury designation and some early foul trouble to power the Minnesota Timberwolves past the Miami Heat, 122-94, on Tuesday night, giving Minnesota its second decisive win over Miami in four days.
Edwards, listed as questionable with a foot injury, finished with 26 points and looked anything but limited. He knocked down a team-high five 3-pointers and went 5-for-6 at the free-throw line as the Timberwolves extended their winning streak to three games. Minnesota also beat Miami 125-115 on Saturday.
Jaden McDaniels added 19 points for the Wolves, who got strong interior production as well. Rudy Gobert posted 13 points and 17 rebounds, while Julius Randle chipped in 15 points and 11 boards to help Minnesota control the game physically and on the glass.
The only thing slowing Edwards early was foul trouble. He picked up his second foul with just under four minutes left in the first quarter and sat out the remainder of the period. He returned to start the second quarter with Minnesota trailing 29-27 and quickly helped the Wolves regain momentum. Edwards later sat again for the final 3:34 of the third quarter after drawing his fourth foul, but by then Minnesota had already seized firm control.
The Timberwolves carried a seven-point halftime lead and steadily stretched it throughout the second half. Randle buried a deep 3-pointer as the shot clock expired to give Minnesota an 87-73 lead with just over a minute left in the third quarter. Dante DiVincenzo followed with back-to-back 3-pointers before the period ended, pushing the advantage to 93-77 heading into the fourth.
Minnesota continued to pour it on in the final quarter, ballooning the lead to as many as 28 points. Both teams emptied their benches with more than four minutes remaining as the outcome was well in hand.
For Miami, Norman Powell led the way with 21 points. Tyler Herro scored 17 points in his return after missing the last 11 games with a toe injury. Herro came off the bench for just the fourth time in the past four seasons as the Heat continued to ease him back into the rotation.
Up next, the Heat travel to Chicago to face the Bulls on Thursday night. The Timberwolves return home to host Cleveland on Thursday as they look to keep their winning streak rolling.
