Heat 96, Timberwolves 84
MINNEAPOLIS -- Dwyane Wade scored a game-high 25 points, and backcourt mate Goran Dragic added 18 as the Miami Heat took down the Minnesota Timberwolves 96-84 Thursday at Target Center.
The Heat (3-2) held the Timberwolves to 35.3 percent shooting for the game. Miami shot 48.7 from the floor and 18-for-25 from the free-throw line.
Forward Chris Bosh scored 16 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, while third-year center Hassan Whiteside chipped in with 12 points, nine rebounds and four blocks. Whiteside entered the game averaging 3.5 blocks per game, third best in the league.
Wade, who dealt with migraines just two days earlier in Miami's loss to the Atlanta Hawks, singlehandedly went on a 7-0 run to close out the first half. He capped that with a spinning half-court shot at the buzzer to give the Heat a 49-39 lead at intermission.
Wade had a team-high 16 points at the half on 7-of-12 shooting.
Early in the game, Wade also keyed a 10-0 Miami run after Minnesota jumped out to a lead. He finished 11-for-19 from the floor to go along with five rebounds, two assists and three steals.
Guard Kevin Martin and forward Shabazz Muhammad provided an offensive spark off the bench for the Timberwolves. Both players scored 14 points, while guard Andrew Wiggins paced Minnesota's starters with 12 points in a team-high 31 minutes.
Minnesota struggled to make baskets in the first half, shooting just 31 percent from the floor. The Timberwolves trimmed Miami's 10-point halftime lead to as few as five in the third quarter but never got back to within single digits the rest of the way.
The Timberwolves (2-2) lost a second consecutive home game after opening the season with a pair of road wins. Minnesota plays at Chicago on Saturday. Miami plays the second game of a back-to-back Friday at Indiana.
NOTES: Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said G Gerald Green "is healthy and good right now" after Green was hospitalized for undisclosed reasons on Wednesday. Green averaged 10.3 points in the Heat's first four games. ... Heat G Mario Chalmers (right knee) did not play Thursday. Spoelstra said Chalmers' knee is "already feeling better than it was (Wednesday)." ... Timberwolves interim head coach Sam Mitchell was facing a familiar foe. He was the head coach in Toronto from 2004 to 2009 while Heat F Chris Bosh played for the Raptors. "I'm just happy to see him back. He's just such a good guy," Mitchell said.