Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves end the Heat's hot streak

The Heat's front-end of the back to back commenced tonight against the Minnesota Timberwolves, as Miami was coming off a four game winning streak.

The team appeared generally healthy, as only Tyler Herro and Pelle Larsson remained out as they both deal with differing foot injuries.

Yet they got banged up throughout this game. Norman Powell was in the locker room for a bit early in the game with right leg soreness but returned. Jaime Jaquez Jr turned an ankle in the second quarter that ended his night, which consequently impacted the Heat's second half chances.

But let's discuss the basketball part of it with some takeaways from tonight:

1. Stopping Anthony Edwards, or trying to.

Jan 3, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) drives to the basket against Miami Heat guard Norman Powell (24) during the first quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Usually you can get a temperature check on the night for Anthony Edwards based on his early approach. There's night where he turns it on as an extremely aggressive scorer that can't be stopped, and other nights he could defer to others. Tonight was the aggressive option. He had 20 points on 6 of 10 shooting by half, along with 8 free throw attempts. Miami threw more double teams at him than we're used to seeing, but that led to reaching hands and more foul calls as he's good at drawing contact in the middle of the floor. It's an interesting team to scheme against with their interior presence, but Edward's soon to be Team USA head coach showed him a lot of respect.

2. The third quarter hot pocket.

Jan 3, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat guard Norman Powell (24) shoots the basketball over Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels (3) during the first quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Jaime Jaquez Jr just recently ruled out, turnovers piling up three minutes into the third quarter, and the need for scoring creeping up. It was heading toward another rough third quarter, before Miami flipped a switch. They started increasing the defensive pressure themselves and scoring off turnovers, naturally increasing the pace of the game. Davion Mitchell steals and layups, Norman Powell energy threes and crowd popping plays, and Kel'el Ware getting involved around the rim. The big takeaway here is that Spo is right: this team is a completely different team when they're running and playing fast. Those energy pockets are needed, but they need to be extended just a tad longer to hold onto the lead in those runs.

3. The fourth quarter drop-off.

Jan 3, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) shoots the basketball over Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert (27) during the first quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

This offense is usually a two-sided affair. When it's working, it looks like what I just described from that third quarter stretch. But when it hits a wall, it stalls out big time. There hasn't been a real happy medium so far this season, and we saw that in this second half. The injury of Jaquez Jr was apparent after that first unit's offensive push, as Nikola Jovic did his best to provide some fast-paced offense. But when things got back to a half-court game, there weren't as many options. If this team isn't forcing turnovers, especially against big teams like Minnesota, it'll be a grind no matter the score.