MIAMI – The Heat are a franchise in transition in the wake of the Jimmy Butler trade to Golden State. But for the rest of this season, they are still a team that, under coach Erik Spoelstra, is going to play disciplined, tough basketball.
They gave a road-weary Wolves team (seventh road game out of their past nine) all they could handle Friday, but the Wolves gutted out a 106-104 win, their fourth straight.
They made it interesting at the end as turnovers and missed free throws gave the Heat a chance to win it with 1.9 seconds to play, but Bam Adebayo missed a three-pointer as time expired.
The Wolves got threes in the fourth from Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Anthony Edwards and Naz Reid to turn a three-point fourth-quarter deficit into a 100-95 lead with 3 minutes, 55 seconds to play. The Wolves clung to a three-point lead before Jaden McDaniels grabbed a loose ball near the hoop and put it in for a 104-99 lead with 1:05 to play.
The Wolves benefited from missed threes by Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson down the stretch. Edwards got the rebound for the Wolves on three straight possessions and finished with a season-high 13. He scored 13 points, his second-lowest output of the season.
The Wolves had seven players score between 12 and 15 points, with Naz Reid, Mike Conley and Donte DiVincenzo all scoring 15. Adebayo had 29 for the Heat.
Conley starts again
-------------------
With Conley back after missing Wednesday’s win in Charlotte for rest, he was in the starting lineup and DiVincenzo again came off the bench. The Wolves opened a 20-15 lead before the first timeout of the game from Miami nearly six minutes into the game. Edwards, who had Davion Mitchell guarding him, didn’t take his first shot of the night until the 6:16 mark. Julius Randle opened the night 3-for-5 as he looked to find his touch early. Conley also scored five early points.