MIAMI — The Minnesota Timberwolves improved their road record to 5-1, defeating the Miami Heat 103-91 on Tuesday at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Minnesota center Karl-Anthony Towns had 14 points and 14 rebounds. Guard Andrew Wiggins had a game-high 24 points as the Timberwolves, the only winless home team in the Western Conference, improved to 5-6 overall. Minnesota snapped a four-game losing streak.
The Timberwolves are the second-best road team in the NBA, trailing only Golden State (5-0).
Miami center Hassan Whiteside had 22 points, 14 rebounds and 10 blocks – his second career triple-double and the 20th in franchise history.
Heat point guard Goran Dragic added 16 points and nine assists. Miami got 20 points from forward Luol Deng and 11 rebounds from rookie forward Justise Winslow.
The Heat (6-4) committed 22 turnovers – a season high – and had their three-game win streak snapped. Miami, 5-2 at home, also missed 16 free throws.
It was a big night for comebacks.
Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio, who had missed four games because of a hamstring injury, had seven points and three assists in his return. Minnesota snapped a 16-game losing streak without Rubio.
Heat reserve shooting guard Gerald Green, who returned to the team after missing six games, scored two points. Miami starting shooting guard Dwyane Wade, who missed one game for family reasons, had 10 points.
Miami got off to a good start, leading by as many as 10 points before settling for a 25-20 advantage after the first quarter. The Heat had a 14-4 edge in points in the paint.
The Heat kept pounding the ball inside in the second quarter with a 20-10 paint-points superiority. That allowed the Heat to play to a draw in the quarter, taking a 50-45 lead into halftime.
Miami extended its lead to 69-62 after three quarters but could not hold on as Minnesota scored 41 points in the fourth.
NOTES: Minnesota PG Ricky Rubio (hamstring) returned to the lineup after missing four games. … Minnesota has a “high-scoring, athletic, young, aggressive group,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. … Heat SG Gerald Green returned to the team after missing six games due to a bizarre incident at his condo in which — according to a police report — the player was found with bloodied hands before passing out. Part of the time he missed included a two-game suspension. Green apologized and said he was “ashamed” but offered no further details. … Heat SG Dwyane Wade returned after missing one game due to the hospitalization of his son Zion, 8. Zion, who had an undisclosed ailment, was reportedly released from the hospital on Monday night. … Heat PG Goran Dragic said his wife and two young children finally joined him in Miami on Sunday night. He had not seen his three-month-old daughter since the day after she was born.