Anthony Edwards 45 Points Sink Giannis' Heat in Opener

The Anthony Edwards 45 points performance in the Minnesota Timberwolves' season opener was the loudest statement of the NBA's opening week. Minnesota beat the Miami Heat 131-106 on Wednesday, and the scoring line put Edwards in club with Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain.

A Night That Went Into the Record Books

According to NBA.com, Edwards became the third player ever to score forty or more points in multiple season openers. Only Jordan and Chamberlain had done it before him. That is a wild list to join at the start of only his seventh season.

He was hot from deep too. The league's own recap noted he hit nine threes and shot fifty-two point nine percent from beyond the arc. When someone told him his percentage, he laughed and said over fifty percent was all he was trying to do.

Giannis Made His Heat Debut in the Same Game

The matchup was already loaded before tip-off. Giannis Antetokounmpo played his first game for Miami and finished with thirty-five points. The same recap says he broke LeBron James' record for points in a debut with the Heat, which is a big deal in a franchise built around stars.

At halftime the two stars were tied with twenty-one points apiece, and the Wolves led sixty-nine to fifty-nine. Edwards pulled away in the second half. By the fourth quarter he was past forty and the game was effectively over.

The Anthony Edwards 45 points game also showed how complete his offense has become. He attacked closeouts, pulled up from the logo and still found teammates when the Heat sent help. According to NBA.com, he had forty points on fifteen-for-twenty-six shooting with about six minutes left, with the game already out of reach for Miami.

Miami fans had a lot to cheer for early. Giannis scored nineteen points in just twelve minutes of the first half, including a hesitation dribble that left Rudy Gobert reaching. ESPN's Tim Legler called it a nightmare for Gobert on the broadcast, and for a stretch the Heat looked like they might trade punches all night.

Then the Wolves leaned on depth. Edwards kept hunting threes, Ball ran the break, and Minnesota outscored Miami by a wide margin after halftime. A twenty-five-point final margin tells you the opener was not close for long, and it sets a high bar for a team that wants to be a contender.

LaMelo Ball Looks at Home in Minnesota

Edwards was not alone. LaMelo Ball made his Timberwolves debut and scored twenty-one points with six assists and five threes, opening his account with a deep shot from the logo. That new backcourt pairing was one of the major storylines coming into the season.

Klay Thompson also had a milestone moment. Per the same NBA.com live blog, he became the fourth player in league history to reach twenty-nine hundred career threes, and he is chasing Ray Allen's total of twenty-nine hundred seventy-three.

Opening Night Was Wild Across the League

Edwards was not the only story. The Lakers beat the Warriors 127-105, their biggest season-opening win since 1973, with Luka Doncic hitting a half-court buzzer-beater. Walker Kessler went twelve for twelve from the field, a perfect night no Lakers center had managed since Chamberlain in 1969.

Elsewhere, the Raptors thumped the Bulls 135-92 in Toronto, Ty Jerome set a career high with forty-five points for Memphis, and Anthony Davis scored thirty-four in his Wizards debut. The AP, as published by NBA.com, also covered Indiana's win over New Orleans.

What It Means for the Season

One game proves little, and Minnesota still has to show it can defend with this new roster. But a team with Edwards shooting like that and Ball running the offense is going to be fun to watch. The Heat, meanwhile, have a superstar who clearly fits, even if the supporting cast needs time.

For Gen Z fans who grew up on highlight clips, Edwards is the kind of player who makes a regular-season opener feel like a playoff game. The swagger, the trash talk with the crowd and the long range shooting all play perfectly on social media. Expect his clips to be everywhere this week.

Want more of the league's biggest moments? Check our sports coverage for the latest as the season rolls on, and see how the Wolves handle their next test.