Minnesota Timberwolves' Andrew Wiggins, left, drives around Toronto Raptors' OG Anunoby, of England, in the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018, in Minneapolis.Jim Mone/The Associated Press
Andrew Wiggins scored 29 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had all 22 of his points in the second half as the Minnesota Timberwolves rallied from an 11-point first-half deficit to beat the Toronto Raptors 115-109 on Saturday night.Playing without leading scorer Jimmy Butler, the Wolves managed to overcome Towns' early foul trouble and hot perimeter shooting by the Raptors to snap a two-game skid.
Kyle Lowry led Toronto with a season-high 40 points on 14-for-25 shooting, including 6 of 10 from behind the arc. The Raptors shot 54 per cent in the first half, when they led by as many as 11.
With Butler sidelined with a sore right knee and Towns having three early fouls and no shot attempts in eight first-half minutes, the Raptors looked primed for their third straight win. But Towns finally got going after halftime, scoring 12 of the Timberwolves' first 21 points, and Minnesota outscored the Raptors 33-21 in the quarter.
Minnesota led by as many as 10 in the fourth before the Raptors answered with an 11-0 run to retake the lead. DeMar DeRozan's 3-pointer put Toronto up 106-104 with 3:12 left. But Wiggins and Towns hit back-to-back 3s and Marcus Georges-Hunt added three free throws to help give the Wolves their third straight home win over the Raptors.
TIP-INS
Raptors: DeRozan scored 20 points. He entered averaging a career-high five assists per game, but finished with only three. ... Fred VanVleet returned after missing two games with a bruised right knee. He scored eight points.
Timberwolves: Wiggins shot 33.7 per cent in his previous six games. He shot 11 for 21 on Saturday night. His 29 points were a season high. ... The Wolves are 1-2 in games without Butler. ... Wiggins had two highlight-reel dunks in the first half over 7-foot Jakob Poeltl, bringing the Wolves bench to its feet both times. ... Georges-Hunt had career highs in points (12) and minutes (29).
UP NEXT
Raptors: At Atlanta on Wednesday night.
Timberwolves: At the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night.