The Minnesota Timberwolves are fresh off their first win of the season in Sacramento the other night. One thing that was established in that game was the presence of the dynamic duo of Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle. Both Edwards/Randle played well off each other and they would try to continue that in front of the hometown Minnesota faithful against the Raptors. The Raptors coming to town before the rematch of the Western Conference Finals looks like a trap game on paper but the Timberwolves were up to the challenge.
The Timberwolves came out clicking on all cylinders as it was Donte Divincenzo who was able to set the tone early in this game hitting a couple of 3-pointers that gave the Wolves some space with the early lead. The Raptors took every punch that the Timberwolves hit them with as they got down by 22 points in this one before they knew it. One bright spot for the Raptors tonight was Gradey Dick as he was able to showcase some impressive shot-making ability against a tough Timberwolves defense. It seemed like every time the Raptors made a push to cut into the Wolves lead it was Gradey Dick that made plays for Toronto. You can tell he’s taking that next step in his career and having Scottie Barnes alongside him the future can be bright when the Raptors get healthy. Tonight Gradey was able to finish the game with 25 points on 9/16 from the field as he was able to help the Raptors get the lead under 10 points in the 4th. The Timberwolves’ mistakes late in the 4th would allow Toronto to make this game a lot more interesting than it needed to be honestly. Scottie Barnes finished with 20 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists but made a huge impact on the game on both ends. The Raptors kept trying to get the lead under the 8 point but the Minnesota Timberwolves continued to make shot after shot when it was needed.
Julius Randle was very aggressive in this game as he finished with 24 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists. Randle made a huge impression on the Minnesota fans tonight as he was able to showcase the bully ball that has gotten him high praise in the NBA. Tonight Randle and Edwards both finished with 24 points as they led the Timberwolves to the win. Anthony Edwards got his game going in the 2nd & 3rd quarters as he was looking in mid-season form with the jumper working and he was able to go downhill on the Raptors defense. The Raptors had Barnes/Battle playing defense on Anthony Edwards but he was able to still have his way as it seems as though Ant-Man is primed for a true run at the MVP. The Wolves finished the game with 6 players in double figures and if they will make that run back to the WCF at least it’s going to take a full effort for all 82 games. One thing that we saw tonight was Donte getting his playing time to showcase his play-making ability with his scoring. The Wolves finished the game shooting 47% from the field and will need to continue this if they want to take care of business against the Mavs on Tuesday.
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