MINNEAPOLIS — Gary Trent Jr. scored 30 points in his home state, Pascal Siakam added 17 points, eight rebounds and nine assists and the Toronto Raptors – who were without All-Star Fred VanVleet – beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 103-91 on Wednesday night.
Trent went 5 for 12 from 3-point range and had 10 points in the fourth quarter to help the Raptors to their ninth win in 11 games.
Karl-Anthony Towns led the Timberwolves with 24 points and 11 rebounds, and Jaden McDaniels pitched in 18 points and seven rebounds, but they were done in by some defensive lapses and icy outside shooting down the stretch.
Each team will enter All-Star weekend in seventh place in their conferences, and the Raptors are on track to return to the playoffs after missing out last season for the first time in eight years.
The Raptors were coming off a 30-point loss to New Orleans in which they shot a season-worst 30.5% from the field. But on Wednesday, Toronto produced a sharp performance without the service of VanVleet, who was sidelined by knee soreness.
Siakam made three free throws early in the fourth quarter after a foul on D’Angelo Russell, giving the Raptors a 77-74 advantage. It was their first lead since 49-48, and they never trailed after that. Trent knocked down a step-back 3-pointer to make it 92-84 with 5:08 left.
Playing the second half of a back-to-back set and their seventh game in 11 days, the Timberwolves faced another test of their progress after a comeback victory over Charlotte that coach Chris Finch called one of their best of the season.
Anthony Edwards, playing on sprained ankle that had him listed as questionable, had only six points, all from the foul line. Edwards, Russell and Malik Beasley shot a combined 4 for 23 from 3-point range.
RAPTORS REUNION
Finch was plucked off of Toronto’s staff midway through last season, when then-basketball boss Gersson Rosas fired Ryan Saunders and skipped the search process. That choice of Raptors coach Nick Nurse’s top assistant has turned out well, though Rosas is no longer around to appreciate it.
The Timberwolves entered the evening with the fourth-best scoring average in the league (113.6 points per game), more evidence of Finch’s prowess with offensive strategy, and the players have largely taken to his acumen and style. Edwards is so comfortable with him he calls him “Finchy.”
SOMETHING HE SAID?
Beverley jawed with Trent before the opening tipoff, an exchange that drew a technical foul on both players. Trent responded with 13 points in the first 6:01 of the game, including three 3-pointers, as the Raptors romped to a 24-11 lead. Trent had five straight 30-plus games in a recent stretch and has hit that mark eight times this season.
Trent, whose father, former Timberwolves player Gary Trent Sr., sat courtside in a fur coat next to the Raptors bench, grew up in the Twin Cities area. Trent himself won a state championship on the Target Center floor in 2015 with Apple Valley High School.
TIP-INS
Raptors: Khem Birch started in place of VanVleet.
Timberwolves: This is their second-best record (31-28) at the 59-game mark in the last 18 years.
UP NEXT
Raptors: Visit Charlotte on Feb. 25. Scottie Barnes is bound for the Rising Stars game on Friday, and VanVleet will play in his first All-Star game on Sunday.
Timberwolves: Host Memphis on Feb. 24. Towns will take part in the 3-point contest on Saturday and the All-Star game on Sunday. Edwards and McDaniels are in the Rising Stars game on Friday.
