If you can’t take the Heat, then get out of the kitchen!
The first place Miami Heat (45-23) are 24-8 at home, and 8-2 in their last ten games. On Friday night, the Heat knocked off the sixth-place Cleveland Cavaliers (38-28), 117-105 at FTX Arena.
Miami will now look to finish their seven-game homestand on a high burning note against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Against Cleveland, Bam Adebayo netted 30 points and posted 17 rebounds for a double-double, shooting 11-16 from the field and 8-8 from the free throw line. Jimmy Butler collected 24 points, Tyler Herro added 22 points, and Max Strus finished with 17. In this matchup, the Heat were 41-86 at the field, 11-35 from downtown, 24-27 at the free throw line with 42 boards and 28 assists.
Now, the seventh-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves (38-30) are howling for their second straight head-to-head matchup versus Miami. Previously, the Heat fell short to Minnesota, 113-101 on November 24th, 2021. During that contest, Bam Adebayo notched 18 points, Ducan Robinson garnered 17 points, Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro both tallied 16 points each, and Gabe Vincent ended the night with 14. Team-wise, the Heat were 34-74 at the field, 15-42 from three, 20-29 at the line with 40 rebounds, 25 assists, and six takeaways.
Meanwhile, Miami’s last victory against the Timberwolves was back on May 7th 2021, 121-112, where Tyler Herro had 27 points, Jimmy Butler collected 25 points, and Goran Dragic had 23 points to finish out Miami’s double figure scoring. Overall, the Heat were 44-87 in field goals made, 13-32 behind the arch, and 20-27 at the stripe with 37 boards, 27 assists, and nine steals. This will be the 64th regular season meeting between the Heat and the Timberwolves. Miami leads the series, 34-29.
So, can Miami burn past the Timberwolves Saturday night and seize victory? Or, will Minnesota attack the glass and paint once again?
(Featured image by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)