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The Giannis Antetokounmpo era with the Miami Heat has begun with a loss.
In his first game with his new team after being traded from the Bucks in the offseason, Antetokounmpo and the Heat opened the season with a 131-106 blowout loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
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Miami’s problem in the loss wasn’t its new forward. He finished with a team-high 35 points, six rebounds and an assist.
The problem was the nonexistent backcourt defense. The Heat had no answer for Anthony Edwards, who finished with 45 points, and his backcourt mate, LaMelo Ball, who had 21.
Edwards made league history in the dominant win. The Minnesota guard became just the third player in NBA history to have multiple 40-point season openers, joining Wilt Chamberlain (4) and Michael Jordan (3). Edwards had 41 in Minnesota’s season-opening win against the Portland Trail Blazers last year.
Edwards and Ball dominated from beyond the arc, hitting 14 of 30 combined attempts, while Miami, as a team, made just 8 of 33. Edwards’ nine 3-pointers set a franchise record for a Minnesota season opener.
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Antetokounmpo somehow went from half court to a dunk without the ball touching the ground.
Antetokounmpo made sure to show off the handles against Rudy Gobert.
While Antetokounmpo has a height advantage over Edwards, the two had a fun second-quarter sequence: the guard drained a 3, and the Heat forward followed with an emphatic dunk, accompanied by some trash talk.
Antetokounmpo and Edwards each had 21 points in the first half.
Edwards spent most of the game giving the Heat a piece of his mind, and he backed up his talk with his performance.
Antetokounmpo began his career with the Milwaukee Bucks, who selected him with the 15th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. After 13 seasons in Milwaukee, including an NBA championship in 2021, the two-time MVP and the Bucks disagreed over his future, and he requested a trade.
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Antetokounmpo finally got the trade he wanted this past summer as the Milwaukee Bucks sent him and Bobby Portis to Miami for Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakučionis and five draft picks.
The Heat return…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/anthony-edwards-historic-performance-ruins-giannis-antetokounmpos-miami-debut-as-timberwolves-blow-out-heat-022426993.html
Author : Teddy Ricketson
Publish date : 2026-10-22 02:23:00
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