The Timberwolves came back from an 18-point first half deficit to defeat the mighty Toronto Raptors by a final score of 117-112.
The Wolves successfully won three of their last four game heading into the All-Star break, and save for a complete breakdown against the lowly New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night, this was a finish with a flourish to the unofficial first half of the season.
Minnesota was short-handed with Tayshaun Prince receiving the night off to head to Detroit for Chauncey Billups jersey retirement with the Pistons, and Kevin Garnett, Nikola Pekovic, and Kevin Martin all remained out.
That meant that Sam Mitchell trimmed his rotation to just eight players in the first half and nine overall in the game, which led to heavy minutes and an impressive batch of stat lines from the Wolves’ starters.
The Wolves’ depleted bench handed the Raptors their 18-point lead in the second quarter, but the starters managed to trim the deficit to just 13 at halftime. The third quarter, on the other hand, belonged to Minnesota.
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They outscored the Raptors by a score 33-21 in the third frame, and it was one of the better quarters of the season for Ricky Rubio. He bothered Kyle Lowry into a rough night (4-15 FG, 1-7 3P) and orchestrated the Wolves’ offense beautifully.
Karl-Anthony Towns was spectacular all game long, and Andrew Wiggins showed up to close out the game late. Gorgui Dieng contributed yet another double-double with 5+ assists, too.
It was an overall impressive performance from Mitchell’s crew, and was the perfect example of just how good this team could be with a couple competent bench/rotation players.
Put it this way: if Karl-Anthony Towns, Ricky Rubio, and Andrew Wiggins could each play all 48 minutes of every game, this would easily be a playoff team.
Tweet of the Night
.@KarlTowns set a new career high with 35 Pts including these 2 dunks that somehow didn't break the hoop. https://t.co/rPsLe0e0Qh
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 11, 2016
Star of the Night
Karl-Anthony Towns – 35 points (12-19 FG, 11-13 FT), 11 rebounds, 3 blocks, one assist, zero turnovers
Towns was nothing short of remarkable once again, driving to the basket and finishing around the less-athletic Raptors front line with ease throughout the first half.
In the second half, he made his impact on the glass and found Rubio outside the arc for a key three-pointer in the final minutes. He’s a complete player, and we’re running out of ways to explain just how good he is — and he’s 20 years old.
Notable Timberwolves Lines
Andrew Wiggins – 26 points (8-18 FG, 0-2 3P, 10-13 FT), 3 rebounds, 2 steals, one block, zero assists, one turnover
Ricky Rubio – 19 points (5-9 FG, 3-6 3P, 6-6 FT), 8 assists, 8 rebounds, one steal, 3 turnovers
Gorgui Dieng – 14 points (4-7 FG, 6-9 FT), 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, one block, 2 turnovers
Who’s Got Next?
It’s All-Star break time! We’ll have a series of previews in the next couple of days before the Wolves’ first and second-year players take Toronto by storm.
The Wolves won’t play another real game as a team until a week from Friday in Memphis against the Marc Gasol-less Grizzlies before hosting Kristaps Porzingis and the New York Knicks the next night at Target Center.
Next: Timberwolves' Similarities to 2008-09 OKC Thunder
In the meantime, enjoy All-Star Weekend and stay tuned for recaps and thoughts on the Wolves’ participants.