The Miami Heat began their 39th season in the National Basketball Association as they fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves 131-106 at Kaseya Center on Wednesday night. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bobby Portis, Klay Thompson and Tim Hardaway Jr. made their playing debuts with the Heat.
The number 10 jersey was unretired by the Heat because Tim Hardaway Jr. was wearing it. His father Tim Hardaway wore that number 10 jersey from 1995-96 until the end of the 2000-01 season. It was the second jersey number retired by Miami in franchise history on October 27, 2009.
Gale Nelson worked his first regular season home game as the new Miami Heat public address announcer. Michael Baiamonte was at that post for 36 seasons from 1990 to 2026 and he retired following the conclusion of the 2025-26 season.
Miami(0-1) scored the first four points of the contest, however they found themselves down 29-21 eight minutes into the opening quarter. The Heat had an 11-2 spurt at the conclusion of the first quarter and were behind 34-32. Antetokounmpo compiled 14 points in his first quarter wearing a Heat uniform.
Both teams remained close to each other during the second quarter with each club not leading by more than five points for most of the frame. Minnesota(1-0) went on a 14-5 run at the end of the second and led 69-59 at halftime.
The Timberwolves rolled out with a 9-2 spurt to begin the third quarter and they had a 78-61 advantage. The Heat answered back with nine consecutive points and they were down 78-70 with 7:46 to go in the third. Minnesota bounced back and were up 99-81 at the conclusion of the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Miami poured in five straight points to begin the frame and trailed 99-86. The Timberwolves followed with a 15-4 run and coasted to the victory.
Antetokounmpo finished up with a team-high 35 points along with six rebounds in his debut. He set a franchise history for the most points scored by the player in their Heat debut. LeBron James dropped in 31 points in his debut with the Heat back in 2010-11.
Bam Adebayo ended up with 15 points and seven rebounds while Andrew Wiggins and Davion Mitchell contributed 11 points each. Thompson scored 10 points, Portis chalked up seven points and Hardaway had three points for Miami.
Minnesota was led by Anthony Edwards with a game-high 45 points along with 10 rebounds for a double-double. LaMelo Ball got 21 points and Jonathan Kuminga pumped in 12 points in their Timberwolves debuts.
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