TAMPA, Fla. – Going into Sunday night’s 116-112 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Toronto (AKA, Tampa Bay) Raptors had won five out of seven games and had forged into eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
The Raptors, who have struggled defensively all season, especially against the three-point shot, had those old woes show back up as Minnesota made 16-of-39 triples and took over the game as Malik Beasley made three triples in the third period.
Three Stars of the Game –
Malik Beasley, Minnesota – The T-Wolves’ guard joined Karl Anthony-Towns by leading Minnesota with 20 points, as he made 6-of-10 triples.
Karl Anthony-Towns, Minnesota – Towns benefitted from the Wolves’ three-ball game as he finished with 20 points and 11 boards, while making 8-of-11 shots.
Fred Van Vleet, Toronto – The Raptors’ three-point shooter scored 19 of his 22 points in the first half as had nine points in a row, giving Toronto a 58-54 halftime lead.
It was over when – Former Kentucky Wildcat Jarred Vanderbilt slammed two dunks and Ricky Rubio hit a three as Minnesota broke open a tie game. The Timberwolves scored on three successive trips to take a 105-98 lead with 4:43 to play. Toronto cut it to two on two other occasions, but Karl Anthony-Towns had the answer on the subsequent possession.
Wolf Tracker – Minnesota has used 14 different starting lineups this season as the youth and instability have been a key in their 7-20 start … Malik Beasley has taken his game to another level this season as he is averaging 21 points per game and has increased his scoring average by 9.8 points over last year … Anthony Edwards has taken off running as the No. 1 pick in the 2020 draft is averaging 14.0 points per game and has scored 369 points over the first 26 game, fifth most by a T-Wolves rookie over such a period.
It’s A Rap’ – Kyle Lowery has picked his game up in averaging 23 points per game over his last three and shot 58.5 percent from three. He had 24 points and made 10-of-12 free throws in the loss to Minnesota … The Raptors rank second in the NBA averaging 20.5 points off turnovers and are tied for third in fast-break points per game with 15.6 … Toronto shot 41.8 percent from the field on Sunday night which was the worst shooting performance for the Raptors since they shot 40.4 percent in a 115-108 loss to Milwaukee on Jan. 27. The Raptors are 5-0 this season when they eclipse 50 percent.
They said it – “We understand that we can’t have those games given away. We’re three games under .500 and we could be six games over .500.” – Raptors guard Kyle Lowery, on losing close games this season.