Erik Spoelstra Warns Heat Bench Player on Trash-Talking With Anthony Edwards After Timberwolves Star Scores 45 Points in Opener

The Miami Heat and the Minnesota Timberwolves faced off on Wednesday for their season-opening game. It was a huge opening night for both teams, as the basketball world has been waiting to see how their respective new lineups would translate in the new season.

Apparently, the new duo of Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball prevailed, beating the new duo of Bam Adebayo and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Edwards exploded for 45 points against the Heat. One of the possible enablers could be Heat small forward Myron Gardner. Gardner kept talking trash on Edwards, which somehow motivated the Wolves star to score big. Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra shared his thoughts on Gardner's verbal antics.

"I love Myron’s competitive spirit, but we also have to be smart about it," Spoelstra told The Athletic's Eric Nehm. "I particularly don’t want him talking trash to the other team’s best scorers, especially when he’s not out there."

True enough, Gardner barely played any minutes on Wednesday. Spoelstra checked Myron in for only three minutes. Within that short span, he managed to rack up four points and two rebounds. Four of his points came from the charity stripe.

Having that in mind, Gardner was sitting on the bench the entire time he was provoking Edwards. Knowing Ant, he likes proving people wrong, especially when the trash talk is coming from someone he doesn't see on his level.

Anthony Edwards Detonates on Heat

The Minnesota Timberwolves appear to be an exciting team to watch after their season opener against the Miami Heat. Anthony Edwards led the Wolves to a dominant 131-106 victory. Ant had a huge double-double outing, putting up 45 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, two steals, and one block. He was also efficient from the field, knocking down 52.9% from beyond the arc and 55.2% overall.

LaMelo Ball also proved to be a perfect combo for Edwards. Aside from setting his new teammate up for success, Ball was also efficient on offense, providing a solid scoring backup for Antman. LaMelo put up 21 points, six assists, and two steals.

Meanwhile, the Heat's new duo between Bam Adebayo and Giannis Antetokounmpo proved to be insufficient against the Wolves. Giannis had a big game himself, racking up 35 points, six rebounds, and one steal. Meanwhile, Adebayo added 15 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and three steals.

Unfortunately for the Heat, none of their other teammates were solid enough to help them on offense. Davion Mitchell was the only other player we could safely say attempted to help Miami's duo. Mitchell had a double-double performance, adding 11 points and 11 assists. However, that still wasn't enough for them to keep up with the hyper combo of Ball and Edwards.