Player grades from Minnesota Timberwolves’ home loss to Raptors
By Ben Beecken
The Minnesota Timberwolves dropped their fifth consecutive game, this time falling to the defending champion Toronto Raptors.
122. 81. 112. 86. Final
The Minnesota Timberwolves have generally played solid basketball over the past week or so, but it still hasn’t translated to wins, and Saturday night at Target Center was no exception.
The Wolves played their fifth consecutive game against a surefire playoff team and suffered their fifth consecutive loss. They were competitive throughout, however, leading for a good portion of the game before falling apart midway through the fourth quarter and getting down by 22 at one point in the final frame.
Minnesota was up by a 39-32 margin after the first quarter and still held a four-point lead at the halftime. Jarrett Culver had 14 points in the first quarter alone en route to 28 for the game, and Andrew Wiggins had his typically strong game against his hometown squad from Toronto to lead the Wolves.
After scoring 62 points in the first half against one of the league’s best defensive teams, the offense sputtered in the second half as the Raptors’ attack gained traction. The Wolves went cold from deep and finished just 14-of-50 (28 percent) from beyond the arc.
Karl-Anthony Towns struggled in his second game back from a 15-game absence and new acquisition Allen Crabbe was unavailable due to an illness.
On the flipside, Raptors guard Fred VanVleet returned after missing five games with a hamstring strain and dropped a game-high 29 while making seven of his eight 3-point attempts.
Bad injury luck and inferior 3-point shooting — sort of the Wolves’ season in a nutshell, isn’t it?
Player Grades
C+. Karl-Anthony Towns struggled in what was his second game in 24 hours after not having played in a month. He failed to post a double-double for the second time in as many games and finished with just 12 points (4-11 FG, 1-7 3P, 3-4 FT) and six rebounds, although he also contributed six assists. This did look to be more rust than anything, and the Wolves offense mostly ran through the hot hands of Culver and Wiggins in this one.. Center. Minnesota Timberwolves. KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS
A-. You could set your clocks by Andrew Wiggins playing well against the Toronto Raptors. He put up the first triple-double of his career: 18 points (6-14 FG, 1-5 3P, 5-6 FT), 11 assists, 10 rebounds and a steal in 36 minutes. He struggled a bit from the field along with the rest of his teammates but did a solid job of getting into the pain and finding open shooters on the perimeter. If only this was the Wiggins that the Wolves were able to count on night-in and night-out…. Wing. Minnesota Timberwolves. ANDREW WIGGINS
Minnesota Timberwolves. JARRETT CULVER. A-. Jarrett Culver has simply been a different player over the past couple of weeks. He dropped 14 points in the fourth quarter including four made 3-pointers. He remained aggressive throughout the game, finishing with 26 points on 8-of-16 shooting and 4-of-10 from beyond the arc (he missed his last five attempts from deep). He also pitched in four rebounds, two blocks, an assist and a steal, including an impressive block at the rim in the final seconds of the first half.. Guard
<a rel=. Forward. Minnesota Timberwolves. ROBERT COVINGTON. B+
<a rel=. Guard. Minnesota Timberwolves. SHABAZZ NAPIER. C
B+. <a rel=. Center. Minnesota Timberwolves. GORGUI DIENG
Other Players
Josh Okogie had another decent game off the bench, finishing with nine points on 3-of-9 shooting and pitching in in several other categories: two rebounds, a steal, an assist, a block. He was just a -9 in 27 minutes.
Keita Bates-Diop was scoreless until the fourth quarter. He had five points, two rebounds and two assists in 15 minutes.
Jordan McLaughlin had another serviceable game in the backup point guard role despite modest numbers. He had four points on 2-of-5 shooting, five assists and three rebounds.
Jordan Bell and Naz Reid only saw the floor in garbage time, when the Wolves whittled the Raptors lead from 20 down to 10 with a quick flurry of points.
Next. Gersson Rosas is setting up the Wolves' future. dark
Up Next
The Wolves are off on Sunday before hosting the Denver Nuggets on Monday evening at 7 p.m. CT.