Wolves

Wiggins scores 26 but Wolves come up short in Toronto

A blown lead at Target Center motivated the Toronto star's finish.

By Jerry Zgoda

February 25, 2016 at 6:44AM

4:12

TORONTO – Two weeks ago, after his team lost an 18-point lead and the game at Target Center, Toronto All-Star guard Kyle Lowry emphasized at least three times that his Raptors would see the Timberwolves again this season.

Their time came Wednesday night at Air Canada Centre.

When it did, Lowry and backcourt mate DeMar DeRozan stepped forth in Toronto's 114-105 victory, the Raptors' ninth consecutive victory at home.

Together, the two All-Star guards combined to score 52 points, including four three-point shots made between the two of them in the game's final 3 minutes, 26 seconds.

Together, the two avenged a 117-112 loss to the Wolves on Feb. 10. Before Wednesday's game, coach Dwane Casey claimed his team had started its All-Star break two quarters too early that night, starting the party before the Raptors flew home for a big weekend celebration back in Toronto.

"They kicked our butt," Casey said. "I'd like to use another word, but I can't."

This time, his team played until the end.

"We talked this morning that they're a tough team to beat," Wolves point guard Ricky Rubio said afterward. "We did it once. It's tough to do it twice. Because it's so recent, they still remember. We knew what we did to win that game. We tried to do it [Wednesday]. We had our chance."

All it took to deliver the Wolves' largest comeback this season that first time around was Karl-Anthony Towns' 35-point career game, 53 free throws attempted and a 25-11 run that started the second half.

This time, the Wolves led 19-10 early, trailed 42-30 early in the second quarter and 101-93 with 5:54 left before they ripped off eight consecutive points to tie the score at 101 with 3:48 left.

"When you are a tied game with three minutes left on the road, I take it every day," Rubio said.

Enter Lowry.

He started a 9-2 run that won the game by making a three-pointer and ended it by making another. In between, DeRozan made another on a night when he scored 31 points and Lowry had 21, 12 in the fourth quarter.

"Those are two All-Stars in the backcourt for those guys and they played like it in the second half," Wolves interim coach Sam Mitchell said. "We played hard. We played well. We did a lot of good things. It took their best effort to beat us [Wednesday], and that's all you can ask for. You want your opponents to play a heck of a game to beat you and they did."

Rubio had 12 assists before the second half was two minutes old, then didn't get another. Wolves young star Andrew Wiggins scored 26 points in his return home to Toronto, 24 of them in the first three quarters.

"Keep a body on him, don't let him see any gaps," DeRozan said, explaining the Raptors' defensive plan against Wiggins. "Force him into [being] a jump shooter."

Wiggins went 1-for-6 in the fourth quarter and the Wolves got outscored 27-19 in that final quarter.

"They're a good team, they hit some threes," Wiggins said. "We struggled the last couple minutes there. I missed a lot of easy baskets. We played hard, though."

Wiggins made eight of his first 13 shots from the field — including both three-point shots he attempted — and then went cold in the fourth quarter.

"They were sending people at me the second half," Wiggins said. "I was in a good rhythm the first half. The second half when I got the ball, I saw more bodies and I just tried to make more plays."

Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan (10) drives past Minnesota Timberwolves guard Andrew Wiggins (22) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016 in Toronto. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT (Brian Stensaas — Associated Press/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Wolves guard Andrew Wiggins and Raptors guard Kyle Lowry had a difference of opinion during the second half Wednesday. Lowry was a difference-maker in the fourth quarter, scoring 12 of his 21 points in Toronto’s 114-105 victory. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)