Andrew Wiggins scored 16 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter -- including three straight 3-pointers at one point -- to lead the host Minnesota Timberwolves to a 116-109 win over the Miami Heat on Sunday night.
In a span of just over four minutes, Wiggins scored 16 of Minnesota's 17 points, as the Wolves went from a 96-93 deficit to a 110-101 lead. Prior to that stretch, he had been 0-for-5 on 3-pointers in this game. Then, he made five straight shots, including four threes, during the 17-5 run.
T-Wolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns had 23 points and 11 rebounds. But he was fairly quiet after a 15-point first quarter.
Minnesota is off to a 3-0 start for the first time since 2013. That team was led by Kevin Love and Kevin Martin, but the Timberwolves have no players remaining from that 2013-2014 season.
Minnesota point guard Jeff Teague had 21 points and a game-high eight assists on Sunday.
Miami was led by rookie guard Kendrick Nunn, who scored 25 points. He is off to the best three-game rookie scoring start in Heat history. However, he was held scoreless in the fourth quarter.
The Heat also got 21 points from Duncan Robinson and 20 points, eight rebounds and six assists from Justise Winslow.
The Heat had just 12 players activated for this game. Forwards Jimmy Butler (paternity leave), James Johnson (conditioning) and Derrick Jones (sprained left groin) were all out. In addition, shooting guard Dion Waiters was left in Miami after serving a one-game team suspension.
Minnesota led 36-23 after a first quarter. But Miami, using an 18-4 run, closed the first half with a 57-55 advantage. Towns had 19 points at the half, and Nunn had 18, making 4 of 5 3-point attempts.
The Heat led by as many as 10 points in the third quarter before settling for an 84-77 advantage heading into the fourth.
That set it up for Wiggins, who at one point in the fourth quarter had outscored the Heat by himself, 16-7.
--Field Level Media
Miami | Minnesota | |
Kendrick Nunn 25 | Scoring | Andrew Wiggins 25 |
Justise Winslow 6 | Assists | Jeff Teague 8 |
Bam Adebayo 9 | Rebounds | Karl-Anthony Towns 11 |
Kendrick Nunn 2 | Free Throws Made | Jeff Teague 10 |
Bam Adebayo 2 | Steals | Robert Covington 2 |
Bam Adebayo 3 | Blocks | Karl-Anthony Towns 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Miami | 109 | 49.4 | 15-36 | 10-15 | 25 | 41 | 9 | 7 | 23 |
Minnesota | 116 | 42.9 | 13-45 | 25-33 | 24 | 46 | 1 | 12 | 16 |