and 16 rebounds, Jarrett Jack had 17 points and eight assists and the
Toronto Raptors beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 94-88 on Tuesday night
for their first three-game win streak this season.
Hedo Turkoglu scored 16 points, and
DeMar DeRozan and Andrea Bargnani each added 15 as Toronto extended its
winning streak over Minnesota to 11 games. The Raptors have not lost to
the Timberwolves since a 108-97 home loss on Jan. 21, 2004.
Jack started in place of Jose
Calderon (sore left hip), who missed his first game of the season after
leaving Saturday’s win at Chicago.
Al Jefferson had 12 points and 11
rebounds, and Kevin Love scored 18 points for the Timberwolves in his
third game since returning from a fractured left hand he sustained in
the preseason.
Jonny Flynn scored 17 points, Ryan
Gomes had 16 and Damien Wilkins added 10 for the Timberwolves, the
third straight Toronto opponent to shoot less than 40 percent.
Trailing 64-63 to begin the fourth,
Ramon Sessions gave Minnesota its first lead midway through the second
quarter with a pull-up jumper. Jack quickly responded with a layup as
Toronto reclaimed the lead for good.
After starting 0-for-17 from 3-point
range, Bargnani finally connected from outside with 4:31 left in the
fourth, putting the Raptors up 82-77. The shot extended Toronto’s
NBA-record streak of consecutive games with at least one 3-pointer to
883.
Down 84-78 with 3:38 left, the
Timberwolves tied it on a layup by Jefferson, two free throws from
Gomes and a baseline jumper by Love. But on their next possession, a
sloppy bounce pass by Flynn led to a breakaway dunk for Turkoglu. Flynn
missed a jumper on the next trip, and Toronto’s Antoine Wright hit a
3-pointer in the corner, putting the Raptors up 89-84 with 1:03
remaining.
Bosh had eight points and seven rebounds as Toronto led 23-20 after one quarter.
Both teams struggled in the second,
with the Raptors shooting 3-for-14 and the Timberwolves shooting 6-for-23. Jack made all six of his free throw attempts in the second as
Toronto extended its lead to 43-35 at the half.
Toronto continued to shoot poorly in
the third, going 7-for-22, yet still led by 11, 63-52, with 2:45 left
in the quarter. Minnesota ended the third on an 11-1 run, cutting it to
64-63 heading into the fourth.
Notes
Flynn, from nearby Niagara
Falls, N.Y., left tickets for a busload of more than 20 family and
friends. … The Raptors wore the blue and white uniforms of the 1946
Toronto Huskies of the Basketball Association of America, the first of
six games this season they’ll wear them. The Timberwolves wore their
original 1989 jerseys. … Minnesota forward Nathan Jawai, who played for
Toronto last season, did not travel with the team because of an
illness.