At 8:30 a.m. Beijing time on December 19, the NBA regular season ushered in a key matchup between teams in the Eastern and Western Leagues, with the Heat hosting the Timberwolves. The Heat were the champions of the East last season, and the Timberwolves, as the strongest dark horse team this season, have been in the first place in the West for almost a month. However, this season's Heat team has been affected by injuries since the beginning of the season, but relying on the play of role players, the Heat still maintain the top 5 position in the East with a 15-11 record. This game will return after 18 consecutive game absences, which also means that the big three of Butler, Adebayo and Herro will be on the field together.
The key factor for the Timberwolves to survive the top of the West this season is the team's defensive ability, and the Timberwolves have played 106.6 defensive efficiency so far this season, ranking first in the league. At the same time, the Timberwolves have a 38% three-point shooting percentage, ranking sixth in the league. Edwards finally scored 37 points against the Pacers last time out to find his form, so whether he can win this game against the Heat depends on Edwards' performance. The starting lineups for this game were Edwards, Towns, Conley, McDaniels and Gobert. The Heat sent Herro, Bam Adebayo, Butler, Love and Martin.
At the beginning of the first quarter, both sides started the offensive game poorly, Adebayo scored a dunk in the air relay, and it was not until 3 minutes later that Edwards of the Timberwolves broke through and scored a layup. McDaniels and Gobert also hit the basket one after another. Herro, who has just returned from the Heat, is in hot form, scoring 10 points in a row in a single quarter without outside shooting. Adebayo broke through the layup and scored 2+1 and scored 5 points in a row. With Love hitting a three-pointer, the Heat built a double-digit lead. Fortunately, the Timberwolves firmly attacked the basket and actively chased the score, and Butler continued to hit the paint area to create kills and control the pace of the game. At the end of the first quarter, the Timberwolves trailed the Heat by 11 points, 22-33.
In the second quarter of the game, the Heat Harkes scored 4 points in a row with a hook hand under the basket, and Adebayo scored a dunk in the air. The Timberwolves' offensive state has picked up, Brown hit a three-point shot from the outside, Lee Kyle broke through, and Towns made a 2+1 inside. Heat Dunroe hit two three-pointers in a row in time to stabilize the advantage. The Heat's offense did not decrease at all, Richardson, Adebayo, and Hakes scored one after another, and the difference was quickly stretched to 17 points. Fortunately, the Timberwolves ushered in a wave of small climaxes at the end of the period, with Edwards, Towns, and Conley hitting three three-pointers in a row. At halftime, the Timberwolves trailed the Heat by 12 points, 54-66.
In the halftime, Herro had 17 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals on 7-of-9 shooting. Butler finished with 12 points, four rebounds and two assists on 4-of-7 shooting. Adebayo had 11 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block. Love had 3 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Dunroe finished with 8 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal on 3-of-5 shooting. On the Timberwolves' side, Edwards had 15 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks on 5-of-9 shooting. Towns had 12 points and four rebounds. McDaniels had 10 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists. Conley had 3 points, 1 rebound and 5 assists. Lee Kyle had 5 points and 3 assists.
In the second half of the game, Gobert made a strong foul under the basket and sounded the horn of counterattack, and Conley hit an outside three-point shot to close the margin to single digits. Love hit a three-pointer in time to stabilize the advantage, and Timberwolves Edwards stepped up and hit a solid three-pointer from the outside, scoring seven points in a row. Reed and Towns also scored one after another under the basket, and as Walker hit a three-point shot, the margin was close to 4 points. With Bam Adebayo hitting a mid-range jumper, the third quarter ended with the Timberwolves trailing the Heat by six points at 77-83.
In the final quarter of the game, Timberwolves Walker opened with a three-point shot, Reed hit the basket and scored 4 free throws, and Conley raised his outside three-point hand to lead the team to overtake the score. The Heat's offense was suddenly blocked, and the bench Harkes hit a difficult basket, and Reed and Conley hit two three-pointers in a row. After half a quarter, Herro and Richardson returned the three-point tie. In the final 2 minutes, the Heat trailed by 1 point. Gobert hit the air relay and hit the dunk, and Hiro made a quick stop to follow up from mid-range. At the critical moment, Edwards turned and leaned back to score, and the Heat had no choice but to use free throws. In the end, there was not enough time, and the Timberwolves reversed the Heat by 17 points at 112-108! The Timberwolves improved their record to 20-5 and ranked first in the league.
In the full game, Edwards scored 32 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists on 13-of-25 shooting, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Towns finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and two assists on 7-of-14 shooting. Conley had 12 points and six assists. McDaniels had 10 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists. Gobert had 9 points, 16 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Reed had 15 points and four rebounds. Walker had 8 points and 3 assists. On the Heat side, Herro had 25 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals on 10-of-18 shooting. Bam Adebayo had 22 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Butler had 15 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Lefu had 9 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists. Dunroe 14 points.