TORONTO — Guard DeMar DeRozan scored 31 points, including a couple of big 3-point shots in the final two minutes, and the Toronto Raptors defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 114-105 on Wednesday night.
Point guard Kyle Lowry, who snapped the tie with a 3-pointer, added 21 points. Reserve guard Corey Joseph scored 18 points and center Jonas Valanciunas had 14 points and seven rebounds. Reserve center Bismack Biyombo had 11 rebounds and six points.
Forward Andrew Wiggins, a Toronto native, scored 26 points for Minnesota. Forward Gorgui Dieng added 21 points with eight rebounds, center Karl-Anthony Towns had 16 and reserve forward Shabazz Muhammad contributed 10 points.
The Raptors led by three points at the half and one point after the third quarter before going ahead by nine early in the fourth quarter. The Timberwolves fourth back to tie the game at 101 with 3:48 to play on a dunk by guard Zach LaVine.
Lowry’s 3-pointer put the Raptors back in front. Minnesota turned the ball over with 2:09 to play on a 24-second violation and DeRozan came back to make a 3-pointer for a six-point Toronto lead with 1:51 left.
Lowry hit another 3-pointer with 53.9 seconds left to increase the lead to seven. DeRozan’s 3-pointer got the lead up to eight with 28 seconds to play.
The Timberwolves (18-40) led by as many as nine points in the first quarter before the Raptors came back to finish the quarter on an 8-0 run to take a 37-28 lead. DeRozan and Wiggins scored eight points each to lead their respective teams.
The Raptors (38-18) opened up by 12 points early in the second quarter. The Timberwolves cut the lead to three points approaching the final three minutes of the half on a jumper by Dieng.
Wiggins hit a 3-pointer with 1:29 to play in the half to trim the lead to two and then tied it with a step back jumper.
Joseph closed the first half with a 3-pointer and the Raptors led 61-58.
Wiggins had 18 points at the half.
The Timberwolves scored the first nine points of the second half capped by a 3-pointer by forward Tayshaun Prince for a 67-61 lead.
A dunk by reserve center Bismack Biyombo tied the game at 71 with 6:24 left in the third quarter.
Lowry’s 3-pointer put Toronto ahead 78-75.
Raptors reserve forward Terrence Ross was ejected when he was assessed a double technical foul in the third quarter after a personal foul call with 1:48 to play. Ross finished with nine points.
Guard Tyus Jones made both technical free throws and Wiggins put in a layup to tie the game.
The Raptors led 87-86 after the third quarter.
Lowry made a driving layup with 7:03 to play in the game to give the Raptors a 97-90 lead. The lead reached nine points before the Timberwolves moved to within five points when Dieng made his free throw to complete a 3-point play.
With 4:07 left, Dieng was fouled making a layup and the 3-point play reduced the lead to two points. LaVine’s dunk tied the game.
NOTES: The Timberwolves announced Tuesday that C Nikola Pekovic will be out indefinitely. Pekovic underwent a debridement and repair of his right Achilles’ tendon on April 8, 2015, and returned to play 12 games from Jan. 6 to Jan. 31. He has soreness in the heel but is expected to return at 100 percent. … When Toronto G Kyle Lowry posted his eighth career triple-double on Monday in the win over the New York Knicks, it was his sixth for the Raptors, a franchise record. … The Timberwolves overcame an 18-point deficit to defeat the Raptors 117-112 on Feb. 10. … The Raptors, who are in second place in the Eastern Conference, will be home to the first-place Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday. … The Timberwolves play the middle game of a three-game trip against the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday.