Minnesota Timberwolves burned by Miami Heat, 96-84

Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins combined to shoot 8/31 from the field.

So, yeah, the Wolves lost.

A woeful shooting performance from the Minnesota Timberwolves and some dazzling plays from Dwyane Wade and Hassan Whiteside of the Miami Heat led to the Heat thumping the Wolves by a score of 96-84 on Thursday night.

Wade led the Heat in scoring with 25 points (11/19 FG, 1/2 3pt FG, 2/5 FT) to go along with five rebounds, two assists and three steals on the night. Additionally, he hit a 65-foot shot at the halftime buzzer to push the Heat’s lead from seven to ten after two quarters of play. (Is it just me, or do teams hit long buzzer-beaters against the Wolves way too often? It seems like it happens all the time. Nick Young did it for the Lakers in the first game of the season.)

Anyway, Chris Bosh contributed 16 points (5/11 FG, 1/2 3pt FG, 5/6 FT), 12 rebounds and two assists while Goran Dragic scored 18 points (7/12 FG, 1/3 3pt FG, 3/4 FT) and dished out three assists. Whiteside chipped in 12 points (5/9 FG, 2/2 FT), nine rebounds, and four blocked shots.

For the Wolves, the starting unit that had been so effective the first couple games struggled mightily, getting outscored by Miami’s starting five 81-29. Wiggins’ 12 points (5/18 FG, 1/3 3pt FG, 1/2 FT) led the starters, while Ricky Rubio added nine points (2/6 FG, 5/5 FT), five assists and three steals.

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Off the bench Shabazz Muhammad was the most productive Timberwolf, scoring 14 points (5/10 FG, 4/5 FT) and also grabbing six rebounds in 22 minutes of action. Kevin Martin also tallied 14 points (4/10 FG, 6/6 FT) for the Wolves, who shot just 35% from the field for the night and 33% from three-point range.

Notes

— Sam Mitchell’s rotations continue to be confusing, especially as it pertains to the point guard position. Zach LaVine, despite struggling all of last season and through four games this season running the offense at the point, continues to get minutes there when true point guards Andre Miller and Tyus Jones are sitting on the bench.

— Towns officially had his worst game as an NBA player, scoring just six points on 3/13 shooting. If there’s a silver lining, it’s that he was going up against one of the best young centers in the league in Whiteside, and it’s not totally crazy for a rookie to struggle against him.

— Adreian Payne played 13 solid minutes for the Wolves tonight, scoring nine points on 3/4 shooting and playing within himself much better than he has in the past. On days when Garnett rests due to a back-to-back, Payne’s minutes will be important.

— One last note here for Wolves nation: RELAX. The Wolves are sitting at 2-2 after four games while playing less than two weeks removed from the death of their head coach. While there are certainly some issues to be confused about, let’s not get all fussy about it. The Wolves aren’t a playoff team this season, anyway.

Next: The curious case of the Wolves' backup point guard

Onward

The Timberwolves’ next competition will be this Saturday in Chicago as they’ll take on Derrick Rose and the Bulls. Stay tuned to Sporting Sota for news and analysis on the Wolves leading up to and following that game.

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