Five lessons from the Miami Heat’s 112-108 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday at the Kaseya Center.

The Heat led Minnesota by 17 points in the first half and led 66-54 at halftime before losing. Minnesota allowed the third-most first-half points and had its second-largest halftime deficit this season.

Minnesota led 4-2 with 9:14 left in the first quarter after Miami trailed by 20 seconds.

The Heat embarked on a 14-2 run to extend its lead to double digits after being tied at 6-6, 8-8, and 10-10.

But Minnesota (20-5) wouldn’t go down lightly. In the fourth quarter, the Timberwolves outscored Miami by 10 points (35-25) to pull away from Miami, who led 83-77 after three quarters.

Anthony Edwards of the Timberwolves led all scorers with 32 points, 17 in the second half and 10 in the fourth.

In the second half, Miami (15-12) scored 42 points

Timberwolves outscored Heat 42-22 at the rim. Miami shot 11 of 17 at the rim, while Minnesota shot 21 of 28.

The Heat only made 6 of 18 non-rim twos in the second half.

Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro make an immediate impact upon returning to the lineup. Two key players returned, boosting the Heat’s lineup despite the loss. Herro returned to the lineup after 18 games with a sprained right ankle, while Adebayo had missed nine of the prior 12 games, including seven straight, with a left hip ιnjury.

The two were instantly inserted into the starting lineup with Jimmy Butler, Caleb Martin, and Kevin Love, and they looked fine.

Herro scored 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting, three rebounds, two assists, and two steals to lead the Heat. Adebayo scored 22 points, six rebounds, and six assists.

This allowed the Heat to demonstrate their depth: Five Heat players scored double-digits. Butler had 15, Duncan Robinson 14, and Josh Richardson 13, along with Herro and Adebayo. Love had nine points and 10 rebounds, one shy of a double-double.

Despite returning two crucial players, the Heat were missing point guard Kyle Lowry due to discomfort on Monday.

Herro handled the ball when Lowry was out, with Richardson and Butler taking over when he was benched.

The Heat had 27 assists and 14 turnovers.

Lowry, the team’s oldest player at 37 and a team-high 25 starts this season, played 16 straight games before missing Monday’s game.

Lowry is second in total minutes played (746 minutes) among the nine NBA players 37 or older who entered Monday with at least one game appearance this season, behind 38-year-old LeBron James.

Erik Spoelstra wouldn’t sаy if Lowry’s absence is a one-time event.

Spoelstra said, “We treat everything on a game-by-game basis.”

Next game: The Heat will play the Orlando Magic on Wednesday in the state before traveling. After that, two more home games against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday and Philadelphia 76ers on Christmas Day Monday before a five-game West Coast road trip.