Miami Heat Beat Minnesota Timberwolves for Win 11th Straight

The 21-30 Miami Heat played the 19-32 Minnesota Timberwolves in Minneapolis on February 6th. If that sounds like a game only fans of those two teams would be interested in, you’d probably be right, except for the fact that the Heat was riding a 10 game winning streak coming into the game.

The Heat made it 11 straight victories with the help of 15 three point baskets as Miami edged the Timberwolves 115-113. Point guard Goran Dragic hit seven of those three pointers, a career high, and led the heat with 33 points. He also chipped in nine assists. Center Hassan Whiteside had a double double, scoring 19 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Whiteside leads the NBA in rebounds per game with 13.9.

Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns continued his excellent play; the 21 year old top overall pick in the 2015 draft scored 35 points and had eight rebounds. Anthony Wiggins scored 27 points and Ricky Rubio also had a double double with 14 points and 13 assists. Rubio’s 8.2 assists per game are fifth best in the league.

At the close of play on February 6th, the Heat were just two games behind what would be the eighth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, with plenty of season left, although their 11-30 record before this winning streak is a big hole to climb out of. Minnesota was 4 1/2 games back in the West. The Timberwolves are building a team around Towns, Wiggins, Rubio, and point guard Zach Lavine. Unfortunately, Lavine, averaging 18.9 points per game, suffered a season ending torn ACL in Minnesota’s loss at Detroit on February 3rd, making a playoff run much more difficult.