Raptors edge Timberwolves in Wiggins' homecoming
The 14-53 Minnesota Timberwolves may not exactly be a draw on the road, but in rookie star Andrew Wiggins' hometown of Toronto, the excitement was palpable.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper even showed up to see the face of his country's basketball future in the flesh, though he confused the Timberwolves' other Toronto native, Anthony Bennett, for American-born Raptors star Kyle Lowry.
In any case, the game itself didn't disappoint, as the Wolves gave the Raptors - who often seemed to be sleepwalking on defense - a stiff test. The Wolves took a tie game into the half and kept themselves within striking distance even as the Raps continually threatened to pull away late, in an eventual 105-100 win for the home side.
The main event, Wiggins, was limited to just nine first-half minutes thanks to foul trouble. He had a strong second half, finishing with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting and holding DeMar DeRozan to just 4-of-14 on the other end.
But it was Kevin Martin that carried the Wolves in this one, tying his season high with 37 points on 14-of-28 shooting (5-of-9 from deep). Chase Budinger chipped in with 19 points and eight boards, and was a frequent beneficiary of the truly mind-boggling vision of Ricky Rubio:
Unlike the Wolves - who were playing without Nikola Pekovic and Kevin Garnett - the Raptors started the game at full strength. They finished it short-handed, though, as Lowry was forced to leave in the third quarter due to a back contusion after falling awkwardly on a drive to the hoop.
They also briefly lost Amir Johnson, who limped to the locker room with what looked like a minor ankle injury before he returned to close things out. Greivis Vasquez filled in admirably for Lowry, notching 11 points and five assists and hitting some clutch triples down the stretch.
DeRozan finished with a game-high 21 points thanks to 12-of-12 showing from the free-throw line, but the star of the game was Jonas Valanciunas. On top of flashing some improved playmaking skills, Valanciunas absolutely dominated inside, scoring 15 points (on 7-of-9 shooting), and hauling in a game-high 15 rebounds (four of them on the offensive glass) in just 23 minutes.
It wasn't pretty, but the Raps came away with the victory, and they've now won three of four - after an ugly 1-9 stretch - to maintain their hold on third place in the Eastern Conference.