MIAMI — This was supposed to be Giannis Antetokounmpo's coronation.
Instead, it turned into the most lopsided Miami Heatloss in a home opener in 20 years.
But it did not start out that way.
The newest Heat superstar, all decked out in gold sneakers for his Heat debut, scored his team's first eight points and surpassed 20 midway through the second quarter.
And he was showered with "MVP" chants just 22 seconds into the game.
Then, the real "MVP" of the night emerged, ruining the night for the man acquired to return the Heat to their glory days.
While Antetokounmpo was everything the Heat expected, maybe with the exception of that air ball from the free throw line late in the third quarter, Anthony Edwards was better.
The result: Minnesota 131, Miami
106.
"None of us like to be humbled like that," coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We'll get to it. We'll figure it out."
Antetokounmpo scores 35 in Heat debut but has little help
Antetokounmpo's Heat debut ended early in the fourth quarter with 35 points. And even with Edwards torching Miami with 45, the Heat could have handled that had Giannis had help.
But when the other team's leader scorer totals just two fewer points than four of your starters combined, this is what you get.
And that is the worst beatdown in a home opener for the Heat since being humiliated by the Bulls, 108-66, to start the 2006 season.
"We didn't get many good looks," Spoelstra said. "(Antetokounmpo) was a force of nature doing what he does but it didn't look like us offensively. You have to give them credit. But we also did some things that were uncharacteristic."
Yet, the Antetokounmpo era could not have started any better. Healthy again, Giannis proved he may be the most difficult player in the league to guard 1-on-1.
And the Timberwolves found that early when, after an initial 17-foot jumper, Giannis was scoring at will from the basket or the foul line.
Because once the 6-foot-11 freak athlete gets going downhill, and starts spinning in the lane, the options are watch him score (many times with a dunk), or foul him.
And sometimes it's both.
But soon it was apparent, if the Heat are going to challenge anyone on the East — from the favorites 76ers and Knicks and even the Raptors and Celtics — Giannis will need help.
Even a generational player cannot carry a team for 48 minutes, especially when another generational player on the other sided is getting plenty of help.
"We can't be that team," Antetokounmpo said. "If we are going to be that team it will look like tonight."
Bam Adebayo is expected to be Giannis' wingman, especially on defense. The Heat center looked lost early and with the exception of brief flurry in the third quarter in which he scored seven straight Heat points, the man who had an 83-point game last season scored eight points.
"The build up of wanting to play so good in front of our home crowd and set the tone was not there," Adebayo said.
Klay Thompson was expected to space the floor with his outside shooting. He played just 16 minutes because of foul trouble and totaled 10 points.
Tim Hardaway Jr., another player acquired to lighten the load on Giannis offensively and keep the defense honest, missed all but one of his seven 3-point attempts.
Even more discouraging, the Heat allowed the Timberwolves to shoot 42 percent from 3. Minnesota made 21-of-50 from deep. Edwards had one more 3-pointer (nine) than the entire Heat team.
"Our effort has got to be better," Giannis said. "It starts with me. I have to set the tone."
How dominating was Edwards? He now is in the company of two of the most explosive offensive players in NBA history.
Edwards and Wilt Chamberlain are the only players to total at least 40 points in back-to-back openers. Edwards had 41 last year against Portland. Chamberlain did it four consecutive seasons.
And he joins Chamberlain and Michael Jordan as the only players to score at least 40 in an opener more than once.
"It became Edwards dribble dance trying to get to his air space," Spoelstra said. "And he felt comfortable all night long."
Two of Edwards' 3s came in the first 2:15 of the second half, pushing the Timberwolves lead to 17.
After the second prompted a Heat timeout, Edwards continued running toward the Heat bench even as Miami's players were headed in the same direction. But he veered toward the man sitting in the first row under the basket closest to the Heat bench. The one with the big smile.
It was Miamian Alex Rodriguez, a 14-time MLB All-Star, who is a Timberwolves part owner and co-chairman.
And for the Heat, it did not get much better as the deficit ballooned to 30.
So how does Miami ensure what happened on opening night does not become a trend?
"Trust," Giannis said. "We got to trust one another. We weren't ourselves today."
Tom D'Angelo is a senior sports columnist and reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Giannis Antetokounmpo debut spoiled as Heat suffer lopsided loss
