Wolves find offensive rhythm, beat Raptors in home opener

Wolves find offensive rhythm, beat Raptors in home opener.

Toronto Raptors center Jakob Poeltl (19) backs towards the basket as Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle plays defense in the first half at Target Center in Minneapolis on Oct. 26, 2024. / Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

The Timberwolves offense was often disjointed in their first two games against the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings, particularly early on, with both games featuring some poor ball movement and turnover-filled first quarters.

That couldn't have been further from the case Saturday night.

The Timberwolves offense was firing on all cylinders early on, from excellent ball movement to improve shot-making, ot to mention a much cleaner game in the turnover department. The Wolves opened the game on a 16-3 run and pretty much never looked back in a 112-101 win over the Toronto Raptors in their home opener at Target Center Saturday night.

"I liked our approach from the beginning, kind of talked about getting off to a great start, kind of imposing ourselves. We did that," Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. "You know, there were periods where we’d get up and kind of lose our focus and concentration still, but we got to work on that, be a little bit better there."

The Wolves (2-1) put together their best offensive showing of the season, moving the ball in the flow and with tempo in a game they produced 29 assists on the night. The Raptors (1-2) were hardly in the game. After the early run, they didn't find themselves back within single digits until the third quarter when Gradey Dick, who finished with a game-high 25 points, caught fire with eight points in the first few minutes of the quarter. The Wolves answered with a 13-0 run.

Ochai Agbaji's 3 with 2 minutes, 44 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter got the Raptors within 104-96, but it was too little, too late. Anthony Edwards hit a late game-icing 3 for his 7,000th career points, and a Timberwolves victory.

The Wolves took a clear step offensively on Saturday night, and it was clear Julius Randle, who finished with 24 points and nine rebounds, is beginning to fit in with the offense. It's taken some time to adjust to playing alongside Rudy Gobert and the rest of the starting lineup, but things were clicking Saturday, even if it was against an undermanned Raptors team without RJ Barrett on the second have of a back to back. It was nevertheless an encouraging offensive effort.

The Wolves as a team finished with 29 assists and shot 47% from the field and 38% from 3-point range. They made the most of their opportunities in transition, finishing with 21 fast-break points, and they had 13 second-chance points, too. They had 13 turnovers on the night while forcing the Raptors into 20 turnovers as things were clicking on defense, too.

“It looks like it’s starting to come together, you know, things that I can see that maybe we can lean into are starting to form a little bit," Finch said. "We got to keep doing them, particularly when it matters most, but it was good for those guys.”