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GAME PREVIEW: Heat look to rebound with a home matchup against Timberwolves

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Butler’s old team makes a visit to Miami in another important home game for the Heat.

By Surya Fernandez
/ new
NBA: Miami Heat at Minnesota Timberwolves Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

GAME STORY

The Miami Heat (35-31) host the Minnesota Timberwolves (20-46) tonight at the AmericanAirlines Arena in another all-important opportunity to climb up the East standings with a potential win against a lottery-bound team.

Miami had their three-game win streak broken by the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday, but are still 7-3 in their last 10 games which has them locked in battle with the Boston Celtics, Atlanta Hawks and the New York Knicks to avoid the play-in games and qualify directly for the playoffs. They are currently at the No. 7 seed, with the same record as Boston, so they definitely will want to move up and tonight is a great opportunity to get a home win against a team that has gone 8-25 on the road this season.

Rising star and No. 1 overall pick Anthony Edwards is coming off an impressive 42-point performance in their last game, and they still managed to lose 139-135 against the Memphis Grizzlies. The Heat will be looking for revenge too, since the Timberwolves won the first matchup between these two teams 119-111 on April 16, with Karl-Anthony Towns leading his team with 24 points.

Tyler Herro (foot) and Jimmy Butler (illness) are listed as day-to-day leading up to tonight’s matchup. Malik Beasley (hamstring) is out tonight while Jarrett Culver (ankle) has been shut down for the season.

ODDS: FiveThirtyEight gives the Heat a 76% chance to win the game.

HEAT VS TIMBERWOLVES: FRIDAY, MAY 7 AT 8:00 PM

INJURIES

MIAMI:

  • Victor Oladipo: out (knee)
  • Tyler Herro: day-to-day (foot)
  • Jimmy Butler: day-to-day (illness)

MINNESOTA:

  • Malik Beasley: out (hamstring)
  • Jarrett Culver: out for season (ankle)

LINEUPS

Projected Starters

Bucks Position Heat
Bucks Position Heat
Jrue Holiday PG Goran Dragic
Bryn Forbes SG Duncan Robinson
Khris Middleton SF Jimmy Butler
Giannis Antetokounmpo PF Trevor Ariza
Brook Lopez C Bam Adebayo

BROADCAST INFO

TV: Bally Sports Sun, NBA League Pass
RADIO: The Ticket 790AM & The HEAT Radio Network (Mike Inglis, Ron Rothstein, Jonathan Zaslow, Tommy Tighe)
SPANISH RADIO: WRTO Mix 98.3 FM (José Pañeda, Joe Pujala). HEAT Spanish Radio Network includes: WEFL ESPN Deportes 760 AM

Come back to Hot Hot Hoops at game time to join our GameThread and chat about the game live with other Heat fans!

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