MINNEAPOLIS — The transition offense never has been in question. When fed a steady diet of opposing turnovers, the Miami Heat stand as a formidable force.

The halfcourt offense against locked-in, quality opposition able to secure the defensive end?

Something closer to what Erik Spoelstra’s team endured in Tuesday night’s 122-94 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center, the Heat’s most-lopsided loss of the season.

For the second time in four days, the Timberwolves kept the turnovers down and the defense up in pushing past the Heat, including a 10-point decision Saturday night at Kaseya Center.

“The one on Saturday we had a spirit to fight all the way to the end,” Spoelstra said. “That’s what is most disappointing to me as the head coach, the last six minutes. It just felt like we let it go.”

So even with Tyler Herro back in the Heat mix for the first time since Dec. 9, a step back, on a night when the starting lineup outside of Norman Powell largely was held in check.

Powell closed with 21 points, with Herro scoring 17 after missing 13 games with a toe contusion.

“It felt good to be back healthy, be back on the court,” Herro said. “Obviously, I would like to have won the game, but it just felt good to be healthy.”

And while Bam Adebayo and Kel’el Ware handled their business on the boards, with 11 rebounds apiece, the offensive output was muted, with Adebayo closing 3 of 11 from the field, Ware 3 of 10.

Adebayo said it was more than just the defensive deterrence of Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert.

“Offensively, I’ve been struggling way before that, so I don’t think he has anything to do with that,” Adebayo said. “I feel like for us, we’ve just got to really concentrate on making it. I feel like we got to this weird time in the season where it just feels like shots aren’t falling.”:

Against the 26 points of Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, who shot 5 of 8 on 3-pointers, simply not enough.

Next up for the Heat is the second stop of this four-game trip, on Thursday night against the Chicago Bulls at the United Center.

Five Degrees of Heat from Tuesday night’s game:

1. Game flow: The Heat led 29-27 after the first quarter, with the Timberwolves taking a 61-54 lead into halftime.

The Timberwolves then took off at the start of the third period, with a 10-0 run in a mere 1:54 pushing them to a 73-58 lead.

From there, Minnesota, with a barrage of 3-pointers, carried a 93-77 lead into the fourth, eventually pushing that edge early in the final period into the 20s.

“They just got us into the mud and we couldn’t keep our pace going,” Spoelstra said.

Spoelstra eventually pulled the plug with his primary players with the Heat down 110-82 with 4:40 to play.

2. Off the bench: Sidelined since Dec. 9, having missed 13 games with the toe contusion, Herro returned in reserve, with Spoelstra remaining with his starting lineup of Ware, Adebayo, Powell, Andrew Wiggins and Davion Mitchell.

It was Herro’s first game as a reserve since an April 4, 2024 Heat victory in Indiana. That appearance was the second consecutive game off the bench after returning from nearly two months off with a hyperextended knee. He then moved back into the starting lineup for the close of the regular season and playoffs.

Prior to Tuesday night, those had been Herro’s lone two reserve appearances since being named NBA Sixth Man of the Year for the 2021-22 season.

Of playing Herro off the bench, Spoelstra said. “That’s just a decision. I’m not going to get into any of that right now.”

Herro was similarly reticent when asked about the reserve role.

“It’s cool,” he said. “It’s not really an adjustment, just playing basketball.”

3. Herro time: Herro entered in place of Wiggins with 5:33 left in the opening period and the Heat up 19-14. He was part of a dual substitution, with Nikola Jovic entering at the same juncture, in place of Ware.

Herro effectively was cast in the sixth-man role of Jaime Jaquez Jr., who missed his second consecutive game with an ankle sprain, with Herro playing on a second unit that also featured Jovic, Pelle Larsson and Dru Smith, with Wiggins cycling back to play with those four.

Herro then converted his first shot in his return, a corner 3-pointer. With that conversion, Herro joined Duncan Robinson as the lone players with at least 1,000 with the Heat.

Herro closed 7 of 15 from the field in his 29 minutes, with nine rebounds, the Heat outscored by 25 during his action.

“I felt good,” Herro said. “Like I said, just being out there was my biggest thing that I wanted to feel, and that’s how I felt. I felt good.

“I’m healthy. So I just want to be available and be healthy.”

4. Still going: While his minutes largely were staggered from Herro’s, Powell continued as the face of the Heat offense, this time with 13 first-half points.

He closed 9 of 17 from the field, including 3 of 6 on 3-pointers.

With the performance, Powell scored in double figures for a 35th consecutive game dating back to last season with the Clippers, tying the longest such streak of his career, set in 2021.

But Powell said what matters most, now that Herro is back, is finding a way to make it work better against the better teams.

“It’s kind of gone sideways a little bit with guys and uncertainty,” he said. “But we got to kind of get out of our own way and go out there and put on a brand of basketball that is about winning, about togetherness, about toughness and about a style of basketball every single night, no matter who’s in the lineup.”

5. Off night: While NBC featured his defensive work, as he also was featured during the national broadcast with a pregame interview, it hardly was a night to remember for Mitchell, who opened 0 for 7 from the field.

Mitchell closed 2 of 11, missing all four of his 3-point attempts, although he did have nine assists, without a turnover.

While Mitchell continued to thrive as playmaker, a shift to the bench certainly is not out of the question as Herro continues his comeback.