Wade’s return not enough as KG leads Wolves to win

Wally Szczerbiak scored 21 points and Sam Cassell added 19 for the Timberwolves, who have captured three of their last four games. Troy Hudson chipped in 12 points in 16 minutes during the victory.

Miami guard Dwyane Wade returned to the lineup after missing the last two games with a minor ankle injury and totaled 25 points. The Heat have dropped three of their last four after starting the season with four straight victories.

Shaquille O’Neal delivered 20 points and 15 rebounds in the losing effort. He has now recorded a double-double in four straight contests.

Minnesota led 51-43 with 3:30 to play in the first half before Garnett’s two free throws extended the advantage to 10. A Cassell jumper then pushed the lead to 55-43, but an O’Neal bucket inside brought the Heat back to within 10.

A nice putback by Michael Olowokandi was followed by a pair of foul shots by O’Neal that led to a 57-47 Timberwolves’ lead at the break.

The Heat could not pull any closer as the third quarter unfolded. Minnesota continued to hold a steady lead, and when Garnett drilled a jumper with 45 seconds remaining, the Timberwolves held an 81-66 advantage after 36 minutes of action.

The fourth quarter was more of the same for the Timberwolves, who received a three-pointer from Hudson with 9:29 remaining to move ahead 92-71. A long- distance bucket from beyond the arc by Eddie Griffin made it 97-77 with under eight minutes to go and he followed with another soon after for a 102-80 margin nearly a minute later.

Miami cut the lead to 102-89 with 3:40 to go via an 11-0 run capped by a jumper from Michael Doleac at the baseline. However, Garnett put a stop to things with a beautiful fadeaway from the top of the key that sealed the victory.

The Heat shot 46 percent from the floor while Minny finished 39-of-88 for a 44 percent clip.

Minnesota has now captured three straight and seven of the last eight meetings with the Heat, including five in a row at home.