Turnovers come back to bite Wolves in nail-biting loss to Heat

Mike Conley missed a potential game-winning 3 in the final seconds.

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) drives to the basket past Miami Heat forward Haywood Highsmith in the first half at Target Center in Minneapolis on Nov. 10, 2024. / Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

Jaden McDaniels grabbed Mike Conley's miss and tipped it in to give the Wolves a 94-92 lead with 9 seconds on the clock.

There appeared to be confusion on the ensuing inbounds pass out of a Miami Heat timeout. Nickeil Alexander-Walker checked into the game for Conley, but Conley subbed right back in for Rudy Gobert. Duncan Robinson was able to find a cutting Nikola Jovic, who made a layup and drew a foul on Alexander-Walker. Jovic made the free throw for the lead.

The final result was a 95-94 Timberwolves loss Sunday night at Target Center in Minneapolis.

The idea of the smaller lineup was to switch everything to take away the 3-point shot. Alexander-Walker said they typically don't switch until the ball has been inbounded, which caused him to hesitate to go after a back screen.

"I read it late. At that point, I probably should've just tried to wrap him up, but I tried to make a play," he said.

The Wolves (6-4) still had another opportunity with 7.1 ticks still on the clock. The Heat had one foul left to give, so they used it while Conley was driving to the hoop. Anthony Edwards inbounded the ball with 3.1 seconds left, and Conley had a look at a potential game-winning 3-pointer on the final play, but it missed the mark. That was the ball game.

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said the plan was to get Edwards on a quick flare out of the inbounds pass.

"I didn't get it right down the stretch," Finch said of the late-game lineups. "I didn't get it right. ... If I had to go back and do it over, I'd certainly do it differently."

While the plays in the waning moments will get the most attention, there were plenty of opportunities for the Wolves to have put themselves in a better position earlier on. Minnesota matched a season high with 20 turnovers, many of which came in the second quarter. The Heat (4-5) built a 12-point lead, a hole the Wolves dug themselves out of.

Miami had 23 turnovers of its own, but the Wolves converted infrequently. Minnesota's turnovers died down, for the most part, down the waning stretch, but the team couldn't get a good shot, either. The offense was clunky and disjointed.

"We had opportunities to find ourselves with a bucket here and there. We had a lot of little plays that hurt us that all added up," Finch said.

It was an off shooting night for Edwards, and the Timberwolves as a whole. Edwards led the team with 22 points, but shot just 8 for 24, including 4 of 14 from 3-point range. The Wolves shot just 39.8% from the field and 28.9% from downtown.

The Heat utilized a zone defense that threw the Wolves off their game for much of the night.

"Credit to them, they got the stops they needed, but we weren't aggressive," Alexander-Walker said. "... I just think it's on us to be consistent."

The Wolves had their moments, like early in the first quarter, when the ball movement was excellent. Even when they were generating good looks, the shots weren't falling. After a rough start to the second quarter, the offense was moving the ball well again, and they closed the half on a 19-10 stretch to cut their deficit to one point entering the break.

“We never could really kind of soar ahead. Too many turnovers. Too many ill-advised shots. It’s a tough one," Finch said.