Bam Adebayo #13 of the Miami Heat dribbles the ball against Rudy Gobert #27 of the Minnesota Timberwolves during the first quarter of the game at Kaseya Center on January 03, 2026 in Miami. Megan Briggs Getty Images
Five takeaways from the Miami Heat’s 125-115 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves (22-13) on Saturday night at Kaseya Center to open a quick two-game homestand. The Heat (19-16) is right back at it on Sunday, hosting the New Orleans Pelicans (6 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Sun and WPLG Local 10) to complete the back-to-back set at home:
The Heat’s winning streak ended at four after a rough start to the fourth quarter on Saturday.
The Heat hung around for most of the game, entering the fourth quarter trailing by just four points.
But that’s when the Timberwolves blew the game open, beginning the fourth quarter on a 19-4 run to expand their lead to 19 with 7:28 to play.
The Timberwolves’ lead grew to as large as 21 points in the final minutes.
The Heat made a late run to cut the deficit to 10 points multiple times, but that was the closest it got.
Minnesota outscored Miami 35-29 in the fourth quarter on its way to the 10-point win.
But the game was competitive with six lead changes and four ties before the one-sided start to the fourth quarter.
The Timberwolves led for most of the first half pulling ahead by as many as 10 points before entering halftime with a six-point advantage.
After falling behind by eight points with 8:39 left in the third quarter, the Heat took advantage of the Timberwolves’ sloppy start to the period to go on a 13-3 run and take a two-point lead less than two minutes later. The Heat scored 10 points off five Timberwolves turnovers in the first five minutes of the third quarter.
But the Timberwolves settled down, closing the third quarter on a 24-18 run to enter the fourth with a four-point advantage before dominating the Heat down the stretch.
Anthony Edwards led the Timberwolves with a game-high 33 points on 10-of-19 shooting from the field, 2-of-8 shooting on threes and 11-of-14 shooting from the foul line.
The Timberwolves also got 29 points from Naz Reid and 23 points from Julius Randle.
The only Heat player who finished with more than 14 points was Norman Powell, who recorded 21 points in the loss.
The Heat and Timberwolves face off again on Tuesday in Minneapolis.
Powell exited Saturday’s contest early because of a leg issue, but he was able to return. However, Heat sixth man Jaime Jaquez couldn’t return after spraining his ankle.
Powell, who entered averaging a team-high 24.2 points per game this season, left Saturday’s game with 6:11 left in the first quarter because of right leg soreness. The Heat listed his return to the game as questionable.
Powell recorded just two points on 1-of-5 shooting from the field and 0-of-3 shooting from three-point range in 5:49 before exiting Saturday’s game.
But Powell was able to return with 4:41 left in the second quarter, finishing the defeat with a team-high 21 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the field, 2-of-6 shooting on threes and 7-of-8 shooting from the foul line in 25 minutes.
Jaquez wasn’t able to come back after spraining his right ankle, leaving Saturday’s game with 6:28 left in the second quarter and limping straight to the locker room. Jaquez was later ruled out for the rest of the contest.
Jaquez totaled six points on 3-of-5 shooting from the field, three rebounds, one assist and one steal in 9:57 off the Heat’s bench on Saturday before leaving the game midway through the second quarter.
Jaquez has been one of the NBA’s top bench players this season. He entered Saturday leading the NBA in total bench points with 530 this season — 53 points ahead of second-place Timberwolves forward Naz Reid. Jaquez also ranks first in total fast-break points (95), first in total paint points (366), seventh in total rebounds (168) and second in total assists (154) among reserves around the league this season.
Jaquez, 24, has only missed one game this season because of an injury. But his status for Sunday’s game on the back end of the Heat’s back-to-back is now in question.
The Heat also remained without guard Pelle Larsson on Saturday.
After missing Thursday’s win over the Pistons in Detroit with a sprained right ankle, Larsson was upgraded to questionable for Saturday’s contest. But Larsson was ultimately ruled out against the Timberwolves, missing his second straight game with a sprained ankle.
“Pelle has been working at it,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said when asked for an update on Larsson’s status prior to Saturday’s game. “The plan wasn’t to have him play tonight. I don’t have an update of when he’ll be ready, but he’s getting a great workout right now.”
Larsson has now missed seven of the last 10 games with a sprained ankle. He missed five games in December because of a sprained left ankle.
When Larsson has been available this season, he has been an important part of the Heat’s rotation.
Larsson, 24, has averaged 9.2 points, 2.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game while shooting 46.5% from the field and 36.6% from three-point range in 27 games (18 starts) this season. The Heat has outscored opponents by 2.3 points per 100 possessions when he has been on the court this season.
Along with missing Larsson, the Heat was without Vlad Goldin (G League), Tyler Herro (right big toe contusion), Keshad Johnson (G League), Terry Rozier (not with team) and Jahmir Young (G League) against the Timberwolves.
Minnesota was missing Joan Beringer (G League), Enrique Freeman (G League), Terrence Shannon Jr. (left foot abductor hallucis strain) and Rocco Zikarsky (G League) on Saturday.
Heat captain Bam Adebayo reached another impressive milestone, but it came in a relatively quiet performance.
Saturday’s contest marked Adebayo’s 594th regular-season game with the Heat, giving him sole possession of third place on the franchise’s all-time list for games played. Adebayo passed Alonzo Mourning for third place, with Dwyane Wade (948 games) and Udonis Haslem (879 games) the only players ahead of Adebayo on the list.
Adebayo, 28, is in his ninth NBA season after being drafted by the Heat as a 19-year-old with the 14th overall pick in 2017.
“It still stuns me, all these records that he continues to make for our franchise,” Spoelstra of Adebayo’s latest milestone on Saturday. “Because it felt like Zo played for us for 20 years. I know Zo was out due to the illness and everything, but those initial years felt like double or triple in time. But it shows you Bam’s steadiness, his consistency, and he’s a rock of consistency. Ultimately, that’s a talent in this league. He’s found a way to embrace that and be available and continue to grow as a player. He’s doing amazing things.”
Earlier this season, Adebayo passed Glen Rice for sole possession of third place on the Heat’s all-time scoring list.
Adebayo is on track to finish alongside Wade as No. 1 and No. 2 as the Heat’s all-time career leaders in categories like two-point field goals made, free throws made, assists, steals and points, among others. Adebayo is also on his way to overtaking Haslem as the Heat’s all-time leading rebounder within the next two seasons.
But Saturday was not one of Adebayo’s best games, as he finished the loss with 12 points on 5-of-13 shooting from the field, 1-of-3 shooting on threes and 1-of-2 shooting from the foul line, nine rebounds, four assists and four turnovers in 34 minutes.
With Larsson still out and Jaquez leaving Saturday’s game early, Heat rookie guard Kasparas Jakucionis again played meaningful minutes off the bench.
After playing only 53.7 seconds in the NBA through the Heat’s first 26 games of the season, the 19-year-old Jakucionis has now played in nine straight games amid the team’s injury issues. He has logged double-digit minutes in six of those appearances.
Jakucionis, who was selected by the Heat with the 20th overall pick in this year’s draft, closed Saturday’s loss with three points, four rebounds, three assists and one steal in 17 minutes.
Jakucionis was part of a Heat bench rotation that also included Jaquez, Nikola Jovic, Dru Smith and Simone Fontecchio on Saturday before two-way contract forward Myron Gardner entered for the final few minutes of the lopsided defeat.