After winning their previous four at the Target Center, Minnesota dropped it’s third straight, losing to the Toronto Raptors Sunday night, 105-82. Andrea Bargnani led a balanced attack for Toronto, scoring 16 points and hauling in six rebounds. Four other Raptors were in double figures and both Jose Calderon and T.J. Ford each had 10+ assists.
Sunday evening’s contest started on the right foot for both teams, each team connecting on over 50% of their shots in the opening stanza. Toronto nudged ahead after one, 29-25. Guard Marko Jaric had a strong quarter for the Wolves, tallying nine points on 4-4 shooting. The tight play continued into the second with both teams continuing their superb shooting. Toronto pulled ahead 39-27 thanks to a 10-2 run to start the quarter. The Wolves answered, using a 15-4 run to tie the game at 45 before Toronto’s Jose Calderon connected on back-to-back three-pointers to pull Toronto head by four, 51-47 at half. Things would turn south for the Wolves in a hurry, starting with a 12-4 Toronto run to start the third to pull the Raptors ahead 63-51 just four minutes into the quarter.
The score continued to go in the wrong direction for the Wolves; Toronto bumping their lead to as many as 18 points, eventually taking a 77-61 lead into the final quarter. Toronto continued their hot-shooting into the fourth, leading by as many as 26 before eventually defeating the Wolves by a final of 105-82. Toronto shot 50.6% from the field for the game and dished out 31 assists on their 41 made baskets.
Pacing the Wolves efforts was once again Big Al Jefferson. Big Al finished with a game-high 18 points and nine rebounds. Marko Jaric was the lone Wolf to join Big Al in double figures, scoring 11 points, only two coming after his nine-point first quarter. Sebastian Telfair led the Wolves with eight assists. The Wolves will look to end their three-game losing streak tomorrow night when they head to New Jersey to close out their season-series with the Nets. Tip off is set for 6:30 PM.
