The Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Miami Heat with the score 125-122 Tuesday, (October 21) at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. The Wolves had a solid game against the Heat with three players scoring 20+ points and two players recording a double-double. The Heat was able to shoot 50 percent from the field but it still was not enough to defeat Minnesota. Karl Anthony-Towns had a remarkable game. He contributed 20 points, 12 rebounds, one assist, one steal, and three blocks in 40 minutes. He shot an amazing 63.6 percent from the field, 75 percent from the three-point line, and 75 percent from the free throw line.
Miami Heat was very careless with the ball
The Heat played a very solid game against the Timberwolves. They shot 52.7 percent from the field, 25.9 percent from beyond the arc, and 68 percent from the free throw line but they turned the ball over 24 times. Despite shooting above 50 percent the Heat just had too many turnovers that eventually made the game a bit easier for the Timberwolves. Goran Dragic had six turnovers, Dion Waiters committed five turnovers, and Kelly Olynyk committed four. Minnesota did play great defense, but the Miami Heat will need to take care of the ball more for them to get wins down the stretch in close games.
Kelly Olynyk continues to step up
With Hassan Whiteside missing the last five games for the Heat, Kelly Olynyk has stepped up each and every game.
On Tuesday he had another solid game with 23 points, six rebounds, and two assists. He shot 75 percent from the field, 60 percent from the three-point line, and 100 percent from the free throw line. With Whiteside out, Olynyk has become a solid role player for the Miami Heat in their first six games of the season. He has averaged 12.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.5 assists while shooting above 50 percent from the field.
Olynyk has been great for the Heat, but once Whiteside comes back the Heat will surely be a tougher team to beat.
Minnesota played great defense
The Timberwolves did a great job of forcing the Heat to commit turnovers in their game. The Heat committed 24 while they only had 16, this was certainly the result of how good the Wolves played defense.
Jeff Teague was able to contribute six steals while Jimmy Butler recorded three steals. Both Butler and Teague did a great job of intercepting passing lines. Teague and Butler also did a great job on defending Goran Dragic and Dion Waiters as both of them committed a combined 11 turnovers. The game was very close but in the end, the Timberwolves were able to get the win thanks to their solid defensive game.
