Depth and strong guard play are essential in the NBA, and the Timberwolves showed they have plenty of both in a 131-106 rout of the Miami Heat on Wednesday night to open the season.
Minnesota simply dominated behind the sharpshooting backcourt of Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball, who paced the Wolves with 66 combined points and 14 of the team’s 21 three-pointers.
Edwards lit up the arena with 45 points and 10 rebounds, hitting 16 of 29 shots, including nine of 17 from three. He could’ve scored 50, but head coach Chris Finch called off the dogs with about four minutes to play and the Wolves leading by nearly 30.
Ball finished with 21 points. He drilled five threes and handed out six assists, including four early in the first quarter to help Minnesota start fast.
Other notable stats:
- Rudy Gobert: 5 points, 15 rebounds
- Jaden McDaniels: 17 points (8-11 shooting), 8 rebounds, 4 steals
- Jonathan Kuminga: 12 points, 3 assists, 4 steals
- Ayo Dosunmu: 16 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists
- TJ Shannon: 10 points, 0 rebounds, 1 assist
Favorite rotations
A+: Ball, Edwards, McDaniels, Kuminga, Gobert
The starting five showed how dangerous they can be from the jump. Ball and Edwards buried threes; McDaniels hit three buckets in the paint and a corner three; and Kuminga added a new element with a drive to the rim and a bucket between Giannis and Bam Adebayo. Four capable scorers will give defenses nightmares.
A: Ball, Edwards, Dosunmu, McDaniels, Gobert
A: Ball, Shannon, Dosunmu, Kuminga, Gobert
The first group played the last 1:56 of the first half together, outscoring the Heat 6-3 while forcing a pair of turnovers and allowing only one field goal.
The second group played most of the final 2:37 of the third quarter and turned a 92-79 lead into a 99-81 cushion. They stayed on the floor to start the fourth quarter, boosting the lead to 104-85 before Ball took a seat for Edwards.
B: Shannon, Edwards, Dosunmu, Kuminga, Beringer
Honestly, this group just passed the eye test, looking solid on both ends of the floor. It helped that Shannon knocked down a couple of corner threes, while Kuminga and Beringer did just enough defensively to earn more minutes together in the future.
Least favorite rotation
D: Shannon, Edwards, Dosunmu, Lyles, Beringer
These guys played a chunk of the first quarter together, and it did not go well.
Beringer, Dosunmu, and Shannon entered the game with 5:05 left in the first quarter. They didn’t score until Dosunmu made a three-pointer with 3:08 to go, and their only other bucket was a three-footer from Dosunmu with 1:17 left in the quarter.
That group did not play together in the second quarter, when Minnesota outscored the Heat 35-27 to take a 69-59 lead into the half.
Finch brought them back with just under five minutes left in the third quarter and the Wolves leading 87-72. But when the lead shrank to 90-79, Finch pulled the plug and sent Gobert, McDaniels, and Ball back into the game for the final 3:27 of the quarter.
Minnesota led by two points after one quarter, 10 at the half, 18 after three, and by as many as 30 points in the fourth quarter.
Who didn’t get into the main rotation?
The notable absences until garbage time were Jaylen Clark and Bones Hyland. Both played important minutes for Minnesota last season, which says a lot about how deep this year’s team is at guard and small forward. The others who got into the game in garbage time were Cody Williams and rookie Isaiah Evans, who aren’t expected to play much anyway.
Yeah, it was a travel…
Ball’s side-step(s) three-pointer in the first half was a thing of beauty, although, yeah, we can admit that it should’ve been called a travel. If it wasn’t, the NBA’s gather rule is out of control.
Jemele Hill said it best: “That ain’t a regular travel. That’s time travel.”
CLEAN. 🤷♂️ pic.twitter.com/z2jr8Ldd1j
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) October 22, 2026
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This story was originally published by Bring Me The Sports on Oct 22, 2026, where it first appeared in the MN Timberwolves section. Add Bring Me The Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.