Timberwolves Wrap: Road loss to Raptors

The Timberwolves led big early and hung tight through the third quarter before losing late north of the border to the Toronto Raptors.

The Timberwolves played in their second nationally-televised TNT game of the season. After destroying the Philadelphia 76ers at home earlier this year, the Wolves found out that the Toronto Raptors were, well, not the Sixers.

True to form, Minnesota played exceedingly well in the first quarter, taking a 32-22 lead into the second. But the deep Raptors squad utilized their strong bench to get back into the game, and tied the score at 59 by halftime.

The Wolves actually won the third quarter behind a fantastic performance by Karl-Anthony Towns, who had scored just two points in the entire first half.

After Andrew Wiggins picked up his fourth foul, Towns took control with a massive dunk over Jonas Valanciunas (see below) and a couple of nice moves in the post. Zach LaVine chipped in some jumpers and dynamic drives to the basket, and Minnesota managed to lead by a single point heading to the final frame.

The fourth quarter, however, might just be the new third quarter for the Wolves.

The teams traded baskets early in the quarter, but by the 7:00 mark, Toronto had taken a 102-96 lead. After a clutch three from Wiggins as the shot clock expired, the Raptors went on a 9-0 run to take control and never looked back.

The Wolves defense failed to extend beyond the three-point line late in the fourth quarter, and the offense largely stagnated to hero ball reliant on Wiggins, who tends to have tunnel vision late in games and not dish to open teammates.

Alas, the Raptors are simply the better team, and this game was simply a microcosm of the Wolves season to this point: a fantastic first quarter, a strong second quarter, and a poor second half against a more experienced team.

Tweet of the Night

Star of the Night

Kyle Lowry: 25 points (8-14 FG, 5-7 3P, 4-6 FT), 11 assists, 2 rebounds, one steal, 2 turnovers

Lowry rebounded from a relatively slow start to the game with a dominating second half performance. He rained three-pointers when the Wolves foolishly went under the Raptors’ screened, knocked down a 30-plus footer as the shot clock wound down, and baited rookie Kris Dunn into helping him convert a four-point play at a critical moment in the game.

Notable Timberwolves Lines

• Zach LaVine: 29 points (12-20 FG, 3-8 3P, 2-2 FT), 6 assists, 2 rebounds, one turnover
• Andrew Wiggins: 25 points (10-19 FG, 1-4 3P, 4-6 FT), 6 rebounds, one assist, 2 turnovers
• Karl-Anthony Towns: 17 points (8-16 FG, 1-4 3P) 11 rebounds, one assist, one block, 3 turnovers
• Nemanja Bjelica: 9 points (3-5 FG, 2-4 3P, 1-2 FT), 3 rebounds, one steal, one turnover

LaVine did much of his damage when playing alongside Dunn with the second unit, and Towns scored most of his points with Wiggins on the bench in the third quarter due to foul trouble.

The Wolves offense continues to be almost completely Wiggins-centric — not exactly the most difficult thing to load up on if you’re the opposing team.

Next: What's Wrong With Andrew Wiggins?

Who’s Up Next?

The Wolves head to Detroit to take on the Pistons at 7:00 p.m. Central on Friday night. It’s another game against a likely Eastern Conference playoff team, but certainly winnable for a Minnesota squad that has played surprisingly well on the back-end of back-to-back sets thus far this season.