The dunk didn't count. The victory did, which was more than a consolation prize.
One of the most talked-about moments in Wednesday night's game between the Timberwolves and Heat at Target Center came on Anthony Edwards' spectacular fourth-quarter dunk over Gabe Vincent, a dunk that was promptly waved off by officials, who called the young Wolves star for a charge.
No matter. The Wolves still earned one of their most satisfying victories in recent memory, prevailing 113-101 over Jimmy Butler and Miami to extend their winning streak to five games and even their record at 9-9.
A minute into the fourth quarter with the Wolves up 88-82, Edwards slipped away from Miami defender Duncan Robinson on a backdoor cut in front of the Heat bench. D'Angelo Russell fed him a perfect bounce pass and Edwards elevated. Vincent hurried over from the other side of the lane to defend and was run over by Edwards, who put his left hand on Vincent's head as he dunked over the 6-3 guard.
The announced crowd of 17,136 soared. But official Curtis Blair immediately called an offensive foul.
Edwards signaled the Wolves bench to challenge, but coach Chris Finch decided against it. The cry on social media was quick, with many NBA observers believing Vincent came over too late and should have been called for a block.
"If I'm refereeing that game and you dunk on someone like that, I'm not calling a charge," Edwards said after scoring 33 points to go with a career-high 14 rebounds and six assists. "And you at home? I'm not calling a charge. I don't care if he was 3 feet above the circle. I'm not calling the charge."
As for Vincent, he simply wrote on Twitter after the game, "Charge," followed by a shrugging emoji.
Fortunately for the Wolves, the call did not seem to alter the outcome. Miami briefly took an 89-88 lead, but with the score tied 94-94 with 7:24 remaining, Edwards hit a three-pointer to start a 19-7 Wolves run to close the game.
The Wolves outscored the Heat 27-19 in the fourth quarter and 59-39 in the second half, even without those two additional points from Edwards.
"He was electric," Finch said of Edwards. "He's an electric player, absolutely. He's had a great sense of timing his entire young career since I've been here."
