Anthony Edwards Drops 45, Wolves Spoil Giannis' Heat Debut

Anthony Edwards hit nine 3-pointers, scored 45 points, and ran the Heat out of their own building as the Timberwolves crushed Miami 131-106 on Wednesday night, spoiling Giannis Antetokounmpo's first game in a Heat uniform. Per ESPN and the AP recap, Edwards now sits in a club with only Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan.

That club is players with at least 40 points in more than one season opener. Edwards scored 41 in last season's opener at Portland. Chamberlain did it four straight years from 1959 through 1962, and Jordan did it in 1986, 1989 and 1995. When Edwards heard the list, his reaction was one word repeated. "Fire," he said at his locker. "That's fire."

Edwards outshot the Heat from deep by himself

Here is the number that sums it up: Edwards made nine 3s, and the entire Heat roster made eight on 33 tries. He finished 16-of-29 from the field and 9-of-17 from deep with 10 rebounds and three assists in just over 33 minutes. He spread it out, too, with 12 in the first quarter, nine in the second, 15 in the third and nine in the fourth before he sat. Wolves fans watching that third quarter knew the game was over well before the scoreboard said so.

Edwards said a Heat player chirping from the Miami bench lit him up, and he did not even know who it was. "He was talking pretty crazy," Edwards said. "And then when I started talking to him, he didn't really have too much more to say." He had a softer reason, too. "My wife sent me a picture of my daughter watching the game, staying up past her bedtime," he said. "So, yeah, it meant a little more to me."

LaMelo's debut and the runs that broke Miami

LaMelo Ball scored 21 in his Minnesota debut, Jaden McDaniels added 17, Ayo Dosunmu had 16 and Jonathan Kuminga chipped in 12. Rudy Gobert grabbed 15 rebounds. Minnesota outscored Miami 63-24 from 3-point range and won the glass 52-34.

The game turned on a 23-7 run that started late in the second quarter and carried into the third, flipping a one-point Wolves lead into 78-61. Edwards and Ball combined for 17 points in that stretch. Miami got back within eight midway through the third, and then Minnesota answered with a 45-23 burst, 18 of those from Edwards, while the Heat missed 11 of 12 from deep. If you are a Wolves fan, the Edwards and Ball backcourt looked like it has been playing together for years.

Giannis got his 35, and it was not close

Antetokounmpo scored 35 on 13-of-19 shooting with six rebounds before fouling out of his Heat debut, with 21 of those points in the first half. Bam Adebayo added 15. Miami has now dropped three straight season openers, the third time that has happened in franchise history. Heat fans got the Giannis show they paid for, just without any help from beyond the arc.

Minnesota visits Orlando on Friday. Miami hosts Detroit on Friday.

Smacktok pick: lean higher on Edwards' made 3s at Orlando on Friday. He took 17 threes in 33 minutes Wednesday and made nine, and the Wolves leaned on him from deep at every turn.