MINNEAPOLIS _ The Timberwolves bench and the Target Center crowd didn't quite know how to react to what they had just seen.
Andrew Wiggins, on fire, hitting threes from everywhere and leading the Wolves to a 116-109 victory in the home opener. If only Jimmy Butler was there to see it.
You could forgive everyone for going a little crazy. The max-contract player whose struggles shooting and with the fanbase have been well-documented was now lighting it up, and as a result, the Wolves are now 3-0 in this young season.
The capper came with 1:45 to play, when Wiggins buried his 11th straight point and third consecutive three after not hitting one during the first 11 quarters plus one overtime this season.
The bench mobbed him, nearly crushing him under the delirium, but Wiggins' smile emerged as the whole group headed back to the bench during a timeout with the crowd in a frenzy.
He finished with 25 points on 9 of 18 shooting while running mate Karl-Anthony Towns had 23 points and 11 rebounds, cooling off a little from the rip-roaring start he had to the season. They helped the Wolves prevail over the Heat who were without Butler, who missed the game following the birth of his daughter. Wiggins' supernova explosion lasted 1:43 seconds late in the fourth quarter and flipped the score from 101-99 Miami to 110-101 Wolves. It came in a game that every Wolves player outside of Towns was struggling from deep.
The Wolves started the game just 1 of 7 from three-point range, but they still built a lead because Towns was unguardable in the first quarter. He had 15 points and five rebounds, including an impressive drive to the hoop right past Miami big man Meyers Leonard.
Towns' scoring prowess sparked the Wolves as they built a 13-point first quarter lead. Of note, Wiggins found success taking the ball to the basket, scoring eight points on 4 of 6 shooting in the quarter. The Wolves closed out the first with an 18-4 run, one that brought the crowd to its feet when it was over.
The second quarter didn't go as swimmingly for the Wolves and Towns. The three-pointers still weren't falling and Miami found a rhythm by going small, taking Leonard out of the lineup and creating matchup issues for the Wolves. Specifically, Kendrick Nunn (25 points) made life difficult for the Wolves, as the undrafted guard went off for 18 points, including 4 of 5 from three-point range. The Heat answered the Wolves' 18-4 run to end the first with an 18-4 run of their own to end the second and take a 57-55 lead into the locker room.
Bam Adebayo made life more difficult for Towns than Leonard did, and he wasn't afraid to get physical with Towns while not drawing many fouls. Towns had just four points in the second while Wiggins didn't get a field goal.
This carried over into the third quarter, with Nunn hitting more shots from all over the floor and his teammates did the same. The Wolves, on the other hand, had trouble picking up Towns when he went wasn't scoring at an absurd pace. It didn't help that the Wolves committed eight turnovers in the third and shot 7 of 22 from the field.
But the Wolves were determined to not let the game get out of hand, and stuck with the Heat throughout the fourth quarter. They found success attacking the basket again, with Noah Vonleh giving them some quality minutes off the bench (4-for-4, eight points). The Wolves got within four multiple times, a Jeff Teague three got them within 94-93 with just over six minutes left while a Wiggins three tied it 96-96 on the next possession. He was just getting warmed up.
