Wolves Bow To Toronto Raptors

Wolves Postgame Audio
Kevin McHale

Mike Miller

Ryan Gomes

Kevin Love

Randy Foye

Something was missing from the game tonight at the Target Center. It was like watching your favorite TV show without the lead character; it just didn't feel right.

Al Jefferson missed his first game after tearing his ACL in the loss to New Orleans on Sunday night. The doctors examined Jefferson's knee a day later and decided the team's leading scorer would miss the rest of the season.

Without Jefferson in the lineup, the Wolves faltered down the stretch, mainly on the defensive side of the court. The Raptors regained momentum at the 10:44 mark of the fourth quarter behind a Jason Kapono four-point play to bring Toronto within three points of Minnesota. Kapono jumped off the bench to score 18 points and helped Toronto defeat the Wolves 110-102 on Tuesday night.

"Well, we've got to play better defense. We gave up 69 points in the second half, that's ridiculous," head coach Kevin McHale said.

After the Raptors snatched the lead with five minutes left in the game, Jermaine O'Neal closed the door on Minnesota. O'Neal scored 10 of his 22 points in the final quarter and filled the void left by All-Star forward Chris Bosh. The Raptors missed their go-to-guy due to a sprained knee that will keep him out of the All-Star game this weekend.

After a slow start to the game, Minnesota faced a seven-point deficit heading into the second quarter. However, the Wolves started to attack the basket while using a drive-and-kick style of offense to blow past Toronto on a 15-0 run heading into halftime. The scoring spurt was led by Randy Foye, who finished with 33 points on 11-of-22 shooting from the field.

"I thought we ran a lot better in the first half, but we still got to stop people on the run. We didn't get enough stops, that's the bottom line," McHale said.

McHale had to use a smaller lineup that featured Kevin Love at the center position, Ryan Gomes at power forward, and he moved Mike Miller to the small forward spot. Playing the most minutes of his career, Love was rock solid with 15 points and 11 boards.

During the early stages of the game, Toronto received a big scoring boost from Joey Graham. The inconsistent small forward matched a season-high with 24 points in the victory. Jose Calderon ran the Raptors efficient offense as he recorded nine assists and the team shot 53.1 percent from the floor.

Without Jefferson, Craig Smith, and Rashad McCants (did not play due to flu-like symptoms), the Wolves surprisingly outscored Toronto in the paint, on second chance and fast break points. All five of the starters for Minnesota scored in double figures while the team fell to 17-34 on the season.

The Wolves will enjoy the All-Star break and not play for the next week until they head to Washington on February 17.

Matt's Stats

Fan Reactions:
"Give McCants more minutes. He's a scorer, and we need more scorers." Josh, 17, Dayton
"They need to stay motivated. Now that they don't have Jefferson, they can create better." Bobby, 28, St. Paul
"Keep Love out there, stick to the defense, give it to your shooters, and play the boards the best you can." Andrew, 24, North Oaks

-- It was a game of runs, as both teams went back and forth all night. Each team held a double-digit lead at some point during the game. The Wolves outscored the Raptors by 14 in the second quarter, but the Raptors outscored the Wolves by 15 in the fourth. The Wolves finished the second with a 15-0 run, but the Raptors came back with an 11-2 run in the opening minutes of the fourth.

-- Randy Foye was perhaps the streakiest player of the night. Foye scored just two points in the first quarter and three in the third, but finished with 33 points. He had 15 in the second quarter and 13 in the fourth. -- A free-throw drought struck the Target Center in the first half, as the two teams combined for just six free-throw attempts. In fact, until 4:20 remaining in the second quarter, neither team had attempted a free throw besides two technical free throws the Wolves shot off of Toronto three-second violations.

-- In addition, Toronto, who leads the league in free throw shooting percentage at a blistering 82.5%, didn't miss a three throw until 1:33 left in the fourth quarter. They finished 17-for-18 from the charity stripe.

-- Joey Graham, who started for the fourth consecutive time, matched his season high with 24 points, and started out a perfect 6-for-6 from the field. He also finished with two steals and three blocks, and his athleticism confounded the undersized Wolves, particularly during the first half.

-- Jason Collins played his first minutes under Kevin McHale, his first minutes since the infamous December 6 loss to the Clippers. He played nine minutes, and finished with three rebounds. After the game, McHale noted that he would have to start playing his backup big men more in Al Jefferson's absence.

--Matt Everhart