The Miami Heat took the middle ground Saturday night at FTX Arena.

They gave Jimmy Butler the night off to rest a chronically sore toe.

But they also pushed as if it was a game with significant stakes.

Ultimately, the Heat’s offense failed them in the second half, as they fell 113-104 to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

From a 42-point second quarter, the Heat dropped off to a 19-point third quarter and an 18-point fourth.

Against a surging opponent, that rarely is going to get it done.

No, a loss to a Western Conference opponent is not as costly when it comes to playoff tiebreakers. And yes, Butler now has until Tuesday night’s visit by the Detroit Pistons to regain his needed footing.

But, still, there rarely is comfort when a 17-point lead is squandered, taking much of the edge off Markieff Morris’ long-awaited return.

“They made more plays down the stretch,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

Unable to make needed plays late, the Heat lost for the second time in three games.

While there were 30 points from Tyler Herro and a 19-point, 12-rebound double-double from Bam Adebayo, as well as 19 points from Max Strus, it was a night when the Heat needed more than 4-of-12 shooting from point guard Kyle Lowry.

“We missed a lot of shots,” Lowry said of the Heat shooting .398. “We missed some open opportunities. We have bigger goals and will continue to get better.”

The Timberwolves got a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double from center Karl-Anthony Towns and balance across the board to put it away, with eight players scoring in double figures.

Five Degrees of Heat from Saturday’s game:

1. Closing time: Up 12 at halftime, the Heat went into the fourth down 89-86.

A Herro 3-pointer briefly put the Heat up three with 5:20 to play, but seven consecutive Minnesota points, including a Towns jumper, later had the Timberwolves up 104-100 with 2:11 to play.

“From that point on,” Spoelstra said, “they really took control.”

A Strus 3-pointer with 1:59 left got the Heat within 104-103, but a pair of Anthony Edwards free throws with 1:43 to go put the Timberwolves up 106-103.

Lowry then got to the line with 67 seconds to play, but made only the first of two free throws, with a Malik Beasley 3-pointer then effectively putting it away for Minnesota.

“Going down the stretch,” Spoelstra said, “I thought we had some really good looks. “We had some open ones, and we had some open ones that were in and out.”

2. Re-debut: Out since his Nov. 8 run-in with Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, Morris made his return with 4:03 to play in the opening period, after 58 missed games.

The Heat initially went with Strus at backup power forward, after starter P.J. Tucker was called for two early fouls, before Morris entered to a warm ovation.

“I’m just really happy for him,” Spoelstra said, “on the human side, that he finally was able to be cleared.”

Spoelstra said league approval came 2 1/2 hours before tipoff.

Morris’ first basket in four months came on a driving layup with 8.2 seconds left in the opening period, on his first attempt of the game.

He later found himself playing meaningful minutes in the fourth quarter.

Morris closed with six points on 3-of-7 shooting and four rebounds in 17:01.

“It’s exciting,” Lowry said. “He did some things tonight that were extremely pleasant to see.”

3. Markieff’s view: Morris said it has been a trying road back.

“It felt great, man,” he said. “It’s been a long process. Thankful, grateful to play the game I love again.”

He said it was tough period to work through.

“For the first two weeks, I probably didn’t sleep based on that happening to me and not being able to control the situation,” he said. “It was one of the first times in my life I couldn’t control something.

“I moved past it. It took me a while.”

Asked if Jokic had reached out in the interim, Morris offered an expletive, followed by, “I don’t want to hear from him. He did what he did. It is what it is.”

4. At it again: Herro again produced a transformative entrance, with yet another double-digit second period, this time with 18 points in the quarter.

At one point in the second period, he stood at 3 of 5 on 3-pointers, with the rest of his teammates 1 of 9.

Herro this past week scored 21 points in the second period against the Rockets, and then 12 in the second periods Wednesday against the Suns and Friday against the Cavaliers.

It was the fourth time Herro has scored 20 points in the first half this season, with 21 at the intermission.

“His confidence is really exploding right now,” Spoelstra said. “He’s generating so many good things for us.”

5. Number game: Adebayo made it 10 double-doubles in his last 14 games.

The Heat initially opened with Tucker defending Towns, but with Tucker in early foul trouble, Adebayo had to move on to that assignment.

Towns, though, also played in foul trouble, with his fourth with 6:34 left in the third period.

The problem was Adebayo scored only four second-half points, without a shot in the fourth quarter.

With his third assist, Adebayo moved past Eddie Jones for eighth on the Heat all-time list.

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