Anthony Edwards scored 45 points as he and the Minnesota Timberwolves spoiled Giannis Antetokounmpo’s debut with the Miami Heat in an emphatic 131-106 season-opening win on Wednesday night.
Edwards became just the third player in NBA history to record multiple 40-point games in season openers, joining Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan.
Antetokounmpo scored 35 points and grabbed six rebounds after joining Miami in an offseason trade with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Edwards checked out with 3:51 remaining and Minnesota leading by 28. He shot 16-for-29 from the floor, including 9-for-17 from three-point range, and added 10 rebounds.
His 45 points were the most by a Minnesota player in a season opener and marked his 125th career game with at least 30 points.
LaMelo Ball, making his Timberwolves debut, hit five three-pointers and finished with 21 points and six assists. Jaden McDaniels scored 17 points, and Rudy Gobert grabbed 15 rebounds for Minnesota.
Antetokounmpo checked out with seven minutes remaining after hearing MVP chants from the home crowd early in the game. He shot 13-for-19 from the floor but also airballed a free throw and was assessed a flagrant foul after elbowing Terrence Shannon Jr in the head on a drive.
Antetokounmpo was Miami’s most productive scorer. Bam Adebayo had 15 points, Andrew Wiggins and Davion Mitchell added 11 apiece, and Mitchell also dished out 10 assists. Klay Thompson scored 10 points in his Miami debut.
Minnesota made 21 three-pointers, compared with eight for Miami.
Edwards and Antetokounmpo each scored 21 points in the first half, but Minnesota carried a 10-point lead into the break.
The Timberwolves opened 11-for-14 from the floor and led 27-19 after eight minutes. Miami pushed back in the second quarter and briefly took a 50-49 lead on a three-pointer by Bobby Portis Jr.
Minnesota controlled the final five minutes of the half. Shannon hit a pair of corner three-pointers, Edwards recorded a steal and an easy dunk, and Ball scored on a drive and added two free throws to make it 69-59.
The momentum carried over into the third quarter. Edwards and Ball each hit a three-pointer in the opening two and a half minutes. Edwards added another as Minnesota extended their lead to 78-61, and the Timberwolves remained in control the rest of the way.
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