Toronto Raptors can't handle Andrew Wiggins and the Timberwolves

Playing their second game of a back-to-back, the Toronto Raptors started strong but then faded after halftime against the youthful Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Toronto Raptors traveled to Minnesota in a buoyant mood, following a hard-fought win against the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night. However, they were unable to continue the momentum, as they fell 115-109 to the Timberwolves.

Whether it was a physiological issue or not — the Raptors have yet to sweep a home-road back-to-back this season — playing against a youthful, rested Minnesota team was too much to overcome. In addition the Timberwolves are also pretty damn good, especially at home, with Saturday night’s win making it nine straight at the Target Center.

The evening started out well enough for the Toronto Raptors, as they took an early lead and were up by eight at the half. However, they started to fade after the interval, as evidenced by being outscored 33-21 in the third period.

Toronto-born Andrew Wiggins led the way for Minnesota, with 29 points. He was particularly impressive during the first half, as his 22 points kept the home side in touch with the visitors.

Karl-Anthony Towns decided to step up after half-time, as he scored all 22 of his points in the final 24 minutes (to go along with 10 rebounds on the night.) Throw in 10 dimes for Jeff Teague, and the reality is the Timberwolves deserved a win, which took them to 30-18 on the season, including an excellent 19-6 record at home.

Raptors coach Dwane Casey conceded his team didn’t perform as well in the second half, although he did allude to playing for the second consecutive night. As reported by Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun, Casey said:

"“We didn’t match their intensity coming out of the locker room in the second half. We knew they were going to come out strong. We just didn’t move offensively. We were standing and watching the ball. We were trying to run our sets, but we were playing in mud.”"

Despite struggling to sustain their energy in the second half, the Raptors should be commended for not giving up. They recovered from a 10-point deficit and actually reclaimed the lead near the end, before fading again.

This was in large part thanks to the effort of Kyle Lowry, who had a season-high 40 points, as well as five assists and five boards. It seems safe to assume he is now recovered from his bruised tailbone.

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DeMar DeRozan scored 20 on the night and continued his evolution into a more well-rounded star, with another five assists. Significantly though, none of them came in the second half, as things started to fall apart.

One other factor which didn’t help Toronto on the night, was the ineffectiveness of Jonas Valanciunas. After a stretch of five double-doubles in eight games, he was rendered ineffective by constant foul trouble.

As a result, Valanciunas only saw 11 minutes of action. He finished with just three boards (as well as one assist) and was held scoreless for the first time all season.

With the defeat, the Toronto Raptors are 2.5 games behind the Boston Celtics at the top of the Eastern Conference. Just as importantly though, they remain four games ahead of the Cleveland Cavaliers, who also lost on Saturday.

The Raptors now get three days off, before they travel to Atlanta to play the Hawks. On the evidence of the second half in Minnesota, the three-day break should be much appreciated.

Next: Norman Powell's struggles

What stood out for you most on Saturday night? What was your main positive and negative from the loss to Minnesota? How impressed were you with Toronto’s very own Wiggins? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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Toronto Raptors can’t handle Andrew Wiggins and the Timberwolves

By Paul Taylor | Jan 21, 2018

Playing their second game of a back-to-back, the Toronto Raptors started strong but then faded after halftime against the youthful Minnesota Timberwolves.

More from Toronto Raptors