As the Timberwolves introduced their roster before Saturday’s home opener, they started with the reserves. There was polite applause as the end of the bench players came out. The first significant roar of the night came when center Naz Reid was introduced.

Reid kept the home crowd cheering throughout the night in a 106-90 Wolves win over Miami, which was without a resting Jimmy Butler. Reid had the crowd on its feet in the fourth quarter chanting his name thanks to a 25-point performance, which included an efficient 10-for-14 night shooting and 4-for-7 from three-point range in 28 minutes.

“Obivously he does a lot of spectacular things in this game, but it’s a testament to what a great summer can do for you,” coach Chris Finch said of Reid. “He’s had a lot of confidence. He’s taking his time whne he gets a mismatch. Not rushing. He’s chasing shotoers around the floor.”

The player who looked like he could have been a redundancy when the Wolves acquired Rudy Gobert last summer cemented his place on the franchise throughout last season, and he picked up where he left off Saturday when a broken wrist ended his season early. Reid played so well that Finch never bothered re-entering Karl-Anthony Towns after Towns checked out with 9 minutes, 34 seconds remaining in the game.

The Wolves don’t win without Reid on Saturday, as Anthony Edwards (19 points) and Towns (12 points) struggled to find their rhythm offensively.

With the Wolves up 89-86 in the fourth quarter, Reid hit a runner while making contact with Heat center Bam Adebayo. Officials initially ruled it an offensive foul, but Finch used his challenge and got the call overturned to a foul on Adebayo. Reid finished off the three-point play and followed that with a pair of threes before Rudy Gobert got a layup for an 11-0 Wolves run and a 14-point lead that sent the Wolves on their way to their first win.

“I thought his defense tonight … was awesome,” Finch said of Reid. “His rebounding has taken another leap. Fun to watch him play for sure.”

The Wolves felt good about their defense coming out of Wednesday’s loss to the Raptors, but it was that end of the floor that gave them issues early. Miami shot 50% in the first quarter and took advantage of some Wolves miscues in the halfcourt on mismatches and open backdoor cuts.

The Wolves were behind by as much as eight in the early going and went on a 8-0 run when Reid checked into the game late in the quarter.

Reid played a significant part in keeping the game close as the Wolves tried to find their footing. After checking in, he played 13 straight minutes with his only breaks being timeouts and the quarter breaks. The Wolves led 55-53 at halftime and by seven after the third as their defense ramped up the intensity. After Miami shot 49% in the first half, the Wolves held them to 31% the rest of the night.