Raptors at Timberwolves
The Toronto Raptors are getting set for the Eastern Conference playoffs and are just waiting to see how things shake out at the bottom of the bracket. The Raptors will tune up for the playoffs when they visit the Minnesota Timberwolves in their regular season finale on Tuesday.
Toronto, which is set to be the No. 2 seed in the East playoffs, is coming in strong with wins in six of the last seven games and fought off a desperate team with a 117-109 overtime triumph over the Miami Heat on Sunday. The Raptors weren't taking their foot off the gas against the Heat and pushed All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry 42 minutes while getting 38 minutes and 22 points out of All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard. The Timberwolves are headed for the lottery but are trying to finish out the season strong and were denied a three-game winning streak when they fell 132-126 to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday. All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns scored 25 of his 35 points after the break but Minnesota allowed the Thunder to shoot 52.2 percent from the floor and was outscored 37-29 in the decisive fourth quarter.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, TSN (Toronto), FS North (Minnesota)
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (57-24): Toronto is setting its rotation for the playoffs and used a four-man bench on Sunday, highlighted by Norman Powell's 23 points on 7-of-7 shooting, including 4-of-4 from beyond the arc. "These guys are giving us their best performances, so it takes our game to the next level as we're getting ready for the postseason," Powell told reporters after the victory. "They're hungry and some of them are potential matchups, so we can game plan for who we face." Pascal Siakam was sharp as well with 23 points on 8-of-10 shooting and 10 rebounds against the Heat.
ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (36-44): Minnesota is looking for positives going into the offseason and is getting plenty from the starting frontcourt of Towns, Andrew Wiggins and Dario Saric. Wiggins scored 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting Sunday and is averaging 21.4 points while shooting 47.7 percent over the last 10 contests. Saric got off to a slow start after joining the team in the trade that sent Jimmy Butler to Philadelphia earlier in the season but is finding his role of late and scored a season-high 23 points while knocking down five 3-pointers on Sunday.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Raptors SF OG Anunoby (concussion) played his second straight game on Sunday after a four-game absence and went scoreless in 17 minutes.
2. Timberwolves PG Tyus Jones matched a career high with 13 assists on Sunday.
3. The home team took each of the last seven meetings, with Toronto earning a 112-105 victory in the most recent matchup on Oct. 24.