Anthony Edwards had 28 points and six assists, and the Minnesota Timberwolves pulled away for a 133-85 win over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night in Minneapolis.
Naz Reid added 23 points and seven rebounds for Minnesota (53-23), which won its second game in as many nights. Rudy Gobert finished with 11 points and 15 rebounds.
Immanuel Quickley, Gradey Dick and Javon Freeman-Liberty scored 16 points apiece to lead Toronto (23-53), which lost its 15th game in a row. The Raptors are two losses from tying their franchise record of 17 consecutive defeats during the 1997-98 season.
Minnesota outscored Toronto in all four quarters.
Jordan Nwora made a 3-pointer to trim the Raptors’ deficit to 35-31 with 7:02 remaining in the first half. That proved to be the closest that Toronto would get the rest of the way.
Minnesota finished the first half on a 23-11 run to establish an 18-point advantage. Reid made back-to-back 3-pointers to start the run and the Timberwolves led 58-42 at the half.
Minnesota outscored the Raptors 33-18 in the third quarter to increase its lead to 91-60. The Timberwolves closed the quarter on a 10-0 run that included a jump shot and 3-pointer by Monte Morris and a 3-pointer and two free throws by Edwards.
Minnesota coach Chris Finch turned to the end of his bench with the score out of reach in the fourth quarter. Luka Garza, Leonard Miller and Wendell Moore Jr. were among the team’s young players who helped close the game.
Edwards broke out of a three-game shooting slump from 3-point range. He made 5 of 12 shots from beyond the arc against the Raptors after missing 19 3-pointers in a row in his previous three contests against the Denver Nuggets, Chicago Bulls and Houston Rockets.
Raptors guard RJ Barrett did not play because of a sore left knee. Barrett played one night earlier against the Los Angeles Lakers in his first action since March 11, and he finished with 28 points on 11-for-18 shooting.
–Field Level Media