Raptors versus Wolves: A Thriller at Target Center

The crowd at Target Center is on their feet.  The Minnesota Timberwolves and Toronto Raptors are knotted at 107 with under 30 seconds to play.  Lance Stephenson inbounds to Tyus Jones who quickly flicks it over to Andrew Wiggins.  In front of the Raptors bench, Wiggins drives baseline and draws 3 defenders.  Out of the corner of his eye, he spots Jones standing alone at the left wing.  As DeMar DeRozen is closing in, Wiggins avoids the trap and hurls the basketball 20 feet to Jones.  The defender closes in and gets a hand in his face just as he lets it go.  Jones breaks the tie as his high arching three finds the bottom of the net.

Kyle Lowry then finds Jonas Valanciunas for an open dunk.  After Wiggins buries 2 clutch free throws, the Raptors need a 3 pointer to send it to overtime.  Out of timeouts, they have no chance to set up an inbounds play.  This results in a step-back off-balance three from Lowry in the corner with Wiggins draped all over him.  The crowd holds their breath as the shot clangs the side of the backboard and the Wolves are in front as time expires.  The Wolves bench clears and the players and coaches embrace in excitement.

Offensive leaders for the Minnesota Timberwolves were Andrew Wiggins, who led all scorers with 31 on 11 of 19 shooting, Karl-Anthony Towns, who had 29 points and 14 rebounds, and Shabazz “instant offense” Muhammad, who provided 22 points off the bench.  The Timberwolves shot 27 for 30 at the free throw line.  That stat and only 8 turnovers helped them win for the first time in 5 games.

The All-Star duo of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozen accounted for 50 of the Toronto Raptors 109 total points.  DeMarre Carroll hit all 5 of his 3 point attempts and finished with 19 points.  Big man Jonas Valancuinas had perfect shooting, hitting all 7 shots and 2 free throws for 16 points.

Toronto led 63-53 at halftime, hitting 7 three pointers in the first half.  Minnesota worked their way back into it.  A 13-2 run gave them the lead halfway through the third quarter.  The game remained close the remainder of the time.  Tyus Jones, Shabazz Muhammad, Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, and newly-acquired Lance Stephenson represented the Wolves for most of the crucial fourth quarter minutes.

Lance Stephenson

Stephenson was just signed to a 10-day contract by the Wolves.  He started the season on the New Orleans Pelicans but was let go in November after a groin injury required surgery.

Nicknamed “Born Ready”, the 2-guard hit his first shot as a Timberwolf.  He played the entire second quarter and Coach Thibodeau entrusted him with guarding Kyle Lowry for most of the fourth quarter.  He made good as he held Lowry to 2 of 8 shooting in the quarter.  He finished with 6 points on 3 of 7 shooting, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and only 1 turnover for a +5 grading in 19 minutes.

Random Fandom:

• Toronto had won 22 of the last 24 meetings versus Minnesota.
• Toronto had been 22-8 when leading at halftime.
• The Raptors Jakob Poeltl is the first Austrian to play in the NBA.
• Karl-Anthony Towns hit all 13 of his free throws.
• Shabazz Muhammad scored 20 points for the fourth time this year.  It is his ninth career game with 20 or more as a reserve.  He is two games away from tying Sam Mitchell for the Timberwolves record in that regard.
• The Timberwolves scored on their final 7 possessions.
• The Timberwolves led for a total of only 94 seconds in the game.

The Toronto Raptors don’t play for 3 days when they head back home to take on the Detroit Pistons on Sunday evening.  The Minnesota Timberwolves hope to keep the momentum going as they play the fourth of a six-game home stand on Friday evening against the New Orleans Pelicans.