Toronto Raptors dominate final period to cruise to victory against Minnesota Timberwolves – NBA Recap
The Minnesota Timberwolves travelled to Toronto to face the Toronto Raptors in the hopes of securing a victory and gaining some momentum in a much anticipated season. The Wolves, however, were met with a charged up Raptors team and in the absence of Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio, they were convincingly defeated by the Raptors.
Toronto won the game 105-86 after outscoring the Wolves 26-13 in the final period. Kyle Lowry scored 22 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists while going a near perfect 8 of 10 from the field and 2 of 3 from the three point range. Andrei Kirilenko scored a team high 17 points for the Wolves on a night when their offence was unable to deliver.
Minnesota led in the opening minutes of the game but a three point play by Landry Fields tied the game at 8, after which Toronto took the lead for the first time with a finger roll by DeMar DeRozan. Minnesota regained the lead through a slam dunk by Andrei Kirilenko, which was followed by a three point play by Kirilenko that put the Wolves up 16-12. Lowry then got into the act and scored six straight points for the Raptors to take an 18-16 lead. The Raptors led 25-24 at the end of the first period.
Minnesota went on a 6-0 run early on in the second period to take a 29-27 lead, but Alan Anderson replied with a three pointer to give the Raptors the 30-29 lead. After Chase Budinger nailed a three to give the Wolves a 37-35 lead, Anderson again tied the game with a hook shot. The Raptors were finally able to pull away from the Wolves near the end of the period, when they went on a 10-0 run to extend their lead to 56-45. The first half ended with the Raptors up 56-47.
The Wolves made a run for the lead early in the third period and cut the Raptors lead down to 62-57, but DeRozan nailed a three pointer and put the Raptors back up 65-57. Three free throws by Kirilenko followed by a layup by Chase Budinger had the Wolves trailing on 73-75, but Toronto scored the final four points of the period and closed the third period with the psychological advantage of leading 79-73.
The Final period belonged to the Raptors, where they dominated the Wolves on both ends of the floor. They started the period with an 11-3 run that gave then a comfortable 90-76 lead. DeRozan scored a layup which was followed by two free throws by Anderson which gave the Raptors a 96-83 lead. DeRozan then scored four straight free throws and Anderson nailed a three pointer to cap off a 7-0 run which extended the Raptors lead to 103-85 with a little over two minutes left in regulation, and essentially sealed the fate of the game.
DeRozan finished with 22 points and 7 rebounds, where as Anderson came off the bench to score 18 points and was 4 of 8 from the distance. Nikola Pekovic was the only other Wolves player besides Kirilenko with double digit points, finishing with 15 points and 3 rebounds. The Wolves committed 24 turnovers compared to only 11 by Toronto, and shot 6 of 16 from the distance compared to the Raptors, who were 10-21 from the same distance for the night.
Tags: