Holly MacKenzie - Raptors.com
It Was Over When
Bruno Caboclo hit a long three-pointer to put the Raptors ahead by 11 with 9:29 remaining. Although the Timberwolves would hang around, they were unable to cut into Toronto’s lead and the Raptors moved to 3-1 in the preseason with a 112-105 victory over Minnesota.
Lowry On Fire
Kyle Lowry put on the performance of the preseason when he dropped 40 points in 28 minutes against the Wolves and set a Raptors franchise record for points in a preseason game. Chris Paul matched Lowry’s output in a preseason game in 2013, while the last player to top it was Monta Ellis who scored 41 points in overtime in a 2010 game against the Los Angeles Lakers. Through three preseason games, Lowry is averaging a league-leading 30.3 points on 68 percent shooting and has scored a league-leading 91 points in 75 minutes of game action.
DeRozan Sits
DeMar DeRozan sat out Monday’s game to rest. With head coach Dwane Casey confident in the ability of veterans like DeRozan and Lowry to be ready for regular season, the time off allows the coaching staff to try different lineups and see what some of the new Raptors can do.
Ross Leaves with Sore Ankle
Terrence Ross left the game with a sore left ankle. An update on his status was not available immediately after the game, but he will be reevaluated Tuesday morning.
Raptors Player of the Game
As if this could be anyone other than Kyle Lowry. In a performance where he topped Vince Carter’s franchise record for points [38] in a preseason game, Lowry finished with 40 points in 28 minutes on an absurd 13-for-18 field goals. Lowry was 6-for-9 from beyond the arc and a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line to go along with three rebounds and three assists.
Underrated Raptors Player of the Game
Luis Scola came off the bench to score 12 points in 21 minutes of action. He shot 4-for-6 from the floor, 4-for-4 from the free throw line while pulling down four rebounds. After the game Casey praised Scola’s experience and basketball IQ.
That’s a Rap…
“He was unbelievable tonight. He was making everything. He could have probably turned backwards and threw it at the rim.” - Cory Joseph on Lowry’s big night
By the #’s
45…Rebounds for the Raptors compared to 38 for the Timberwolves.
25…Attempts from beyond the arc for Toronto. Casey mentioned the lack of three-point attempts in the previous few games and expected the numbers to go up as the team became more comfortable playing with new lineups. Lowry accounted for six of the team’s nine made three-pointers.
13…players logged minutes in the game as the coaching staff continues to evaluate the roster.
They said it…
“I want him to save some of those [for the regular season.] He’s hot as a firecracker.”- Dwane Casey on Lowry’s performance
“Cory's a guy who is comfortable in the system. He makes the right plays early and when it's time for him to make layups and shots, he takes advantage of it.”- Kyle Lowry on playing alongside Cory Joseph
“I’m just trying to create opportunities, whether that’s for myself or my team.”- Cory Joseph on his last two performances
“We’ve just got to get better defensively. Getting back defensively, shrinking the paint. Our number one goal tonight was not to foul and play defence without fouling and we didn't accomplish that. They were in the penalty early. We’ve got to play defence without fouling. We want to be a good defensive team. We held them to 45 percent, took away the three’s in the second half, but we can be better without fouling.”- Dwane Casey on improvements needed on the defensive end of the floor.
Up next:
The Raptors head to Ottawa to face the Timberwolves again on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. ET at the Canadian Tire Centre.