Andrew Wiggins was making his latest return to his hometown as an opponent. Having beaten the Toronto Raptors just before the All-Star Break in Minnesota, and having just been in Toronto for NBA All-Star Weekend celebrations, he was back for the second and final regular season meeting between the Raptors and Timberwolves. It was also ‘Canada Basketball Night’ at the Air Canada Centre, celebrating Wiggins, Cory Joseph, and Anthony Bennett as three members of the Canadian National Senior Men’s Basketball Team.
The Raptors opened the game on fire, scoring 37 first quarter points, although the Timberwolves were up to the task offensively, scoring 28 points of their own. The Timberwolves responded and outscored the Raptors 30-24 in the second quarter, giving the Raptors a slim 61-58 halftime lead. Both team were battled in the third quarter, and Minnesota managed to cut the Raptors’ lead to one point, 87-86, at the end of 3 quarters of play. In the fourth quarter, Toronto really keyed in on what Coach Casey demands from his players, defense, and were able to hold Minnesota to just 19 points in the quarter.
The Toronto Raptors earned a 114-105 win, marking their third consecutive win. The Minnesota Timberwolves proved in the last match up between these two teams, and again in this game, that they are a team on the rise. NBA All-Star Weekend in Toronto starred Andrew Wiggins participating in the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge game, Karl-Anthony Towns in the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge game as well as winning the Saturday Night Skills Challenge, and Zach LaVine winning MVP in the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge game AND repeating as the Slam Dunk Champion. This Timberwolves young core are Rising Stars and they have a promising and exciting future ahead of them.
Wiggins kept that momentum rolling scoring 26 points (on 9 of 19 shooting) in front of his hometown crowd, adding four rebounds, and 3 assists. The one blemish on the night for Wiggins were the six turnovers he committed (as a team the Timberwolves committed fifteen turnovers).
Timberwolves power forward and Senegal National team player, Gorgui Dieng, continued his impressive play with 21 points (on eight of nine shooting), 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, and a steal.
In a rare occurrence Toronto’s Terrence Ross received back-to-back technical fouls late in the third quarter which is an automatic ejection from the game. Terrence was not impressed with a foul call, and then let his emotions get the best of him and let the referee Derrick Stafford know about it. Stafford, in turn, sent Ross to the locker room for the night, in what was an uncharacteristic moment for the young player.
DeMar DeRozan scored a game high 31 points, and it marked the tenth time he has scored 30-plus points in a game this season. DeRozan also added 4 assists and 4 rebounds which also happen to be his season average for both categories. Jonas Valanciunas was solid on the evening earning 14 points and 7 rebounds. Kyle Lowry continued to fill it up, scoring 21 points while dishing out 6 assists.
Cory Joseph was masterful again for the Raptors, scoring 18 points while having out 6 assists in 23 minutes played.
Joseph is just three minutes away from matching his career high for minutes played in a season. It’s a true testament to what he’s able to bring to the team, and his effectiveness on the court. He’s taken on both a leadership and clutch role with the team, and he is relied upon by him team to execute on both ends of the floor.
The major test is Friday night, February 26th, when LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love come to Toronto for a head-to-head battle between the NBA’s Eastern Conference top two teams.
Postgame Reactions:
Kyle Lowry
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0J4wuLMdXs]Dwane Casey
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6W8_mD5vYUM]DeMar DeRozan
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpWdqGFKuPo]Patrick Patterson
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWGr7CV8NeI]Cory Joseph
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