Miami faces Minnesota, aims for 5th straight victory

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Minnesota Timberwolves (21-13, sixth in the Western Conference) vs. Miami Heat (19-15, seventh in the Eastern Conference)

Miami; Saturday, 5 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Miami comes into a matchup with Minnesota as winners of four consecutive games.

The Heat are 12-5 in home games. Miami is third in the Eastern Conference in rebounding with 45.9 rebounds. Kel'el Ware paces the Heat with 10.6 boards.

The Timberwolves are 9-7 in road games. Minnesota is sixth in the Western Conference with 33.0 defensive rebounds per game led by Rudy Gobert averaging 7.1.

The Heat are shooting 47.3% from the field this season, 1.5 percentage points higher than the 45.8% the Timberwolves allow to opponents. The Timberwolves average 118.8 points per game, 1.4 more than the 117.4 the Heat give up.

TOP PERFORMERS: Ware is averaging 12.4 points and 10.6 rebounds for the Heat. Norman Powell is averaging 36.0 points over the last 10 games.

Gobert is scoring 11.0 points per game and averaging 11.0 rebounds for the Timberwolves. Anthony Edwards is averaging 30.0 points and 5.0 rebounds over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Heat: 5-5, averaging 117.5 points, 46.3 rebounds, 26.6 assists, 10.5 steals and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting 45.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 115.3 points per game.

Timberwolves: 6-4, averaging 116.7 points, 46.2 rebounds, 26.6 assists, 9.3 steals and 6.3 blocks per game while shooting 45.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 114.2 points.

INJURIES: Heat: Pelle Larsson: day to day (ankle), Tyler Herro: day to day (toe).

Timberwolves: Terrence Shannon Jr.: out (foot).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.