Raptors lack finish against T-Wolves
DeRozan’s 35-point effort all for naught as Minnesota sizzles in the second half
MINNEAPOLIS— DeMar DeRozan was doing his thing, shredding the Minnesota Timberwolves in his typical manner, with mid-range jump shots, a couple of three pointers, a handful of forays to the free throw line and a one-handed dunk just to remind everyone there’s still some youngster in his old man’s game.
It was the kind of performance regulars have come to expect from the Toronto Raptors all-star — more substance than style, a subtle grace that has a lot of old school to it, the kind of performance those within the game can truly appreciate.
“He understands . . . where his bread is buttered,” Minnesota coach Sam Mitchell said before DeRozan had 35 points as Toronto came up with a dreadful second-half performance and dropped a 117-112 decision to the Timberwolves at the Target Center on Wednesday night.
“The key to this league is understanding who and what you are, that’s the biggest thing to get players to understand. They all come in the league thinking they can do everything great.”
That may be true of teenagers who come to the league with flashy reputations and little idea of what’s truly important, but DeRozan has grown way, way past that by nature of his work ethic and personality.
“You just saw every year,” Mitchell said. “I think because he’s quiet and doesn’t point to himself and doesn’t say a lot, I think people underestimate him. But if you look at his numbers from his first year, he’s gotten better every year . . . every part of his game.
“And that’s a telltale sign . . . it’s not how much noise you create around yourself, it’s what you actually do.”
But as good as DeRozan was, and has been, the Raptors as a group failed miserably in the second half Wednesday.
An older, better and more success- ful team couldn’t put away the Timberwolves when they had the chance and coughed up what should have been a victory.
Toronto led by as many as 18 points in the first half and a dozen early in the third quarter but were simply out-worked and out-hustled by the athletic Minnesota youngsters down the stretch.
It will be a hugely disappointing loss to deal with during the coming all-star break and represents one of the few times the Raptors have been caught with basic complacency in a winnable game this year.
Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 35 points and Andrew Wiggins dominated at times in the fourth quarter as the foul-plagued Raptors weren’t able to compete.
Minnesota was 41-for-51 from the foul line, both single-game records for a Toronto opponent.
For Mitchell, he can only hope the youngsters he’s in charge of grow in- to their professional selves as well as DeRozan has.
Wiggins, Towns and Zach LaVine are a promising trio of kids who are still in the developmental stage.
Towns is polished offensively — he scored almost at will Wednesday; LaVine is electric athletically and still raw, while Wiggins, last year’s rookie of the year, is coming along well.
“He just has a different attitude of how he approaches things,” Mitchell said. “I felt like last year, like all rookies, he was just ‘it’s Game whatever, 55, just another game.’ Now he kind of understands that it’s more than a game, you have to get yourself ready. This is your livelihood, this is what you do. It’s not about seeing if you can start the game and get through the game, it’s what can we get accomplished, can I get better, can the team get better, can we win the game.
“All those things come into play now.”
Wiggins was instrumental in the furious Timberwolves rally, with 13 of his points coming in the fourth quarter when Minnesota simply outworked Toronto.