Late-game miscues doom Wolves in dispiriting loss to Raptors
It was a rough shooting night, Anthony Edwards was in foul trouble, but the Minnesota Timberwolves still had a prime opportunity to leave Scotiabank Arena in the Great White North with a victory over the Toronto Raptors Thursday night.
Until dysfunction in the final five minutes derailed the Wolves in a 110-105 defeat.
It was their 20th straight loss in Canada.
Tied 95-95 with about five minutes remaining, Rudy Gobert was wide open in the paint on a post up, but Julius Randle, who had the ball at the top of the key, was reluctant to throw the pass. Gobert, appearing frustrated, was slow to get out of the paint and got called for a three-second violation. A frustrated Gobert fouled Scottie Barnes, who celebrated the call, on the ensuing defensive possession, and Barnes made two free throws for the Raptors lead.
A couple possessions later, Randle tried to hit Gobert in the paint on a drive, but the ball slipped through Gobert's hands for a turnover. Barnes made a jumper on the other end. On the next Wolves possession, Donte DiVincenzo got the ball stolen by RJ Barrett, Barrett pushed it up the court to Barnes, who dunked it in transition to put the Raptors (4-12) up six.
A couple possessions later, Jaden McDaniels missed a dunk, and Barrett made a dunk on the other end.
The Timberwolves (8-7) called a timeout, trailing 105-96 with just 2 minutes, 33 seconds remaining.
All efforts by Minnesota after that were too little, too late.
The Wolves were without Mike Conley, who was ruled out prior to the game with a toe sprain. But still, there was opportunity after opportunity for Minnesota to come out with the win. The Wolves led by as many as seven points in the third quarter, and while that advantage was whittled down, they still took a 79-77 lead into the final quarter of play.
The Wolves shot themselves in the foot with 17 turnovers, which translated into 23 points for the Raptors.
Minnesota started the game ice cold, shooting just 32% from the field and 25% from 3-point range in the first quarter, but it offset that by going 13 for 16 from the free-throw line in the opening frame to trail just 32-27 going into the second.
The Wolves improved those numbers to 41% from the field and 34% from 3 for the game.
Despite picking up his fourth foul early in the third quarter, Edwards scored 11 points in the frame and finished with a team-high 26 points. Randle had 23 points and nine rebounds, and McDaniels had 22 points and seven boards.
Barrett led the Raptors with a game-high 31 points.
Adding injury to insult, the Wolves saw two players go down during Thursday's game. Rookie point guard Rob Dillingham exited late in the third quarter and was later ruled out due to a right ankle sprain. Naz Reid appeared to tweak his knee in the final seconds and was subbed out with 11.1 seconds remaining, though he appeared to be walking OK on the sideline.
All in all, it was a disappointing night for the Wolves after a litany of late-game mistakes resulted in a dispiriting defeat. It's clear they still have a lot to get right before they visit the Boston Celtics on Sunday for a 2:30 p.m. tipoff.