Wolves record: 3-18

 

So porous defensively not so long ago, the Wolves held a Raptors team that averages nearly 106 points to a dozen fewer than that, on 32.1 percent shooting.

They came within fewer than five minutes of becoming the first team since 1999 to hold the Raptors without a three-pointer on a night when Toronto missed its first 17 attempts and finished 2-for-21.

They wiped away an 11-point, second-half deficit with a 13-1 run that bridged the third and fourth quarters.

And, of course, they watched it all unravel in an instant with 90 seconds to play.

 

The Timberwolves came back to tie the game on a jump shot from Love, but a behind-the-back pass attempt from Jonny Flynn turned into a Hedo Turkoglu steal and dunk. On the Raptors’ next possession, Antoine Wright hit his only shot of the night, a corner 3 that all but sealed the game for the Raptors.

Despite the turnover, Flynn had a strong game in front of his family and friends who made the trip from Niagara Falls for the game. The rookie finished with 17 points and eight assists, while Love added 18 points off of the bench. Al Jefferson had a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double in the loss.

 

* Kurt Rambis spent most of the game debating and pleading with the officials on a night when the Raptors made 40 of 48 free throws and the Wolves 19 of 23.

“It’s awful hard to beat teams when there’s a huge, wide margin in the free-throw discrepancy like that,” Rambis said. “They did what they were supposed to do. They drove to the basket and drew the contact.”

* The Wolves used a 13-1 run with Love, Sessions, Pecherov, Ellington and Gomes on the floor to end the third quarter and begin the fourth and turn an 11-point deficit into a brief one-point lead.