{{pageModel.leagueAbbr}} {{pageModel.subtitle}} | Las Vegas Review-Journal
National Basketball Association
Minnesota 112, Toronto 109
When: 8:00 PM ET, Wednesday, February 8, 2017
Where: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Officials: #32 Marat Kogut, #52 Scott Twardoski, #49 Tom Washington
Attendance: 13832

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Timberwolves squandered far too many double-digit leads throughout the course of the 2016-17 season.

On Wednesday, Minnesota decided to flip the script.

The Timberwolves battled back from 13 points down and held on to beat the visiting Toronto Raptors 112-109 at Target Center. Tyus Jones drained a 3-pointer with 19.5 seconds remaining and Andrew Wiggins hit a pair of late free throws to clinch the victory.

While Toronto's locker room lamented about its inability to make stops in the second half, Minnesota deserved credit for making plays during its comeback -- even if the Timberwolves' head coach wasn't completely happy with how things shook out.

"We have an idea of what we should be doing, but it's not a habit yet," Minnesota coach Tom Thibodeau said. "It has to be better. It's not good enough right now. There's more. There's a lot more to this."

The win snaps a four-game losing streak for the Timberwolves (20-33). Toronto (32-22) lost for the first time in three games.

It's the sixth time this year Minnesota has fought its way back from a double-digit deficit, but the first time it's happened at Target Center.

"We got stops at the end, played some defense and we executed on the offensive side," Wiggins said.

Wiggins, a Toronto native, had a game-high 31 points on 11-of-19 shooting. Teammate Karl-Anthony Towns notched another double-double -- his 41st of the season -- with 29 points and 14 rebounds. Only Houston's James Harden (43) has more double-doubles than Towns this season.

DeRozan paced Toronto with 30 points. In two games since missing four with an ankle injury, DeRozan scored 61 points.

Kyle Lowry chipped in 20 points for the Raptors, and DeMarre Carroll had 19 points and nine rebounds. But Toronto surrendered 30 points in the third quarter and was outscored 29-21 in the fourth.

The inability to get stops down the stretch didn't sit well with Raptors coach Dwane Casey.

"Once we did get a stop, they got the boards," Casey said. "It's everybody. It's just not one person. It's all of us. Every guy that went in had breakdowns."

Jones, Minnesota's backup point guard, played valuable minutes down the stretch and connected on the game's biggest shot. Wiggins' free throws extended Minnesota's lead to three with 10.6 seconds to play, and a desperation 3-point attempt at the buzzer by Lowry hit the side of the backboard.

Wiggins hit a jumper with 47.6 seconds remaining that gave Minnesota a 106-105 lead. Toronto couldn't counter when Lowry's shot on the following possession fell short and into the hands of Minnesota's Shabazz Muhammad.

After Muhammad made one of two free throws, DeMar DeRozan hit a tough layup at the other end to tie the game at 107 with 29.5 seconds to play.

"I think the way they came out the third quarter, they came out way more aggressive," Lowry said of the Timberwolves. "We came out like we had something done. They beat us good in the second half."

Shooting guard Lance Stephenson made his presence felt in his Timberwolves debut. Stephenson, signed earlier Wednesday to a 10-day contract, had six points and a pair of rebounds in eight minutes in the first half.

Stephenson played 20 minutes in his first game in more than four months -- including all 12 minutes of the fourth quarter -- and gave Minnesota a spark off the bench.

"I've been working so hard and I wanted to be back so bad," Stephenson said. "I was ready and confident in myself."

NOTES: The Timberwolves signed G Lance Stephenson to a 10-day contract Wednesday. The 26-year-old Stephenson began the season with the New Orleans Pelicans but was waived Nov. 7 after sustaining a groin injury that required surgery. Stephenson has averaged 8.8 points and 4.2 rebounds per game in his career. ... Raptors F Patrick Patterson (left knee contusion) missed his third straight game Wednesday. Patterson is averaging 7.2 points and 5.4 rebounds this season. ... Minnesota announced late Tuesday night that F Adreian Payne will be out indefinitely after being diagnosed with thrombocytopenia, a condition of low platelet count. The team said Payne's recovery prognosis is good.
Top Game Performances
 
Toronto   Minnesota
DeMar DeRozan 30 Scoring Andrew Wiggins 31
Cory Joseph 5 Assists Ricky Rubio 7
DeMarre Carroll 9 Rebounds Karl-Anthony Towns 14
DeMar DeRozan 5 Free Throws Made Karl-Anthony Towns 13
DeMar DeRozan 1 Steals Gorgui Dieng 2
Pascal Siakam 2 Blocks Karl-Anthony Towns 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Toronto 109 53.2 11-28 14-20 19 36 3 6 13
Minnesota 112 48.8 7-19 27-30 22 36 3 8 8
Upcoming Games
  • Minnesota will play their next game at home against New Orleans. The Timberwolves have a W/L % of .300 after a win and .424 after a loss.
  • Toronto will play their next game at home against Detroit. The Raptors have a W/L % of .594 after a win and .591 after a loss.