R.J. Barrett and the reeling Toronto Raptors travel to Minnesota to take on Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves on Wednesday night.
The Raptors have lost 14 consecutive games, following Tuesday’s 128-111 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers and are three losses away from matching a team record of 17 straight from the 1997-98 season. The Timberwolves enter tonight’s game coming off a win over the Houston Rockets and sit a half game back of the Denver Nuggets for the top spot in the Western Conference.
Barrett returned to game action on Tuesday for the first time since the death of his younger brother, Nathan and led all scorers with 28 points, adding six rebounds and six assists in the loss. The Mississauga, Ont., native said it was good to finally return to the court.
“It just felt good to be back out there with the guys,” said Barrett, following Tuesday’s game. “Playing definitely helped me feel better.”
Point guard Immanuel Quickley also returned to the lineup following an extended absence due to the death of his uncle. The 24-year-old contributed 20 points and six assists in his return.
“During the whole process, we were constantly checking on each other,” said Barrett. “I’ve known him for a long time, we’ve been together for the past four years, so it was definitely hard to go through that but having somebody like that to talk to sure helps.”
Toronto will face another tough test in Minnesota, as the Timberwolves are 27-10 at home and boast the NBA’s best defence, holding teams to a league-low 106.2 points per game. Edwards remains the driving force of the Timberwolves’ offence, averaging a career-highs with 26.1 points and 5.1 assists per game.
Minnesota (52-23) will once again be without big man Karl-Anthony Towns, who is recovering from a meniscus injury.
The Raptors (23-52) are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs with seven games remaining in the season. The club currently holds the sixth-worst record in the league and will need to maintain its current spot in the standings to increase the odds of retaining this summer’s first-round pick.
The conditional pick was dealt to the San Antonio Spurs last season in exchange for centre Jakob Poeltl. However, the Raptors will keep the pick if it lands in the top-six following the draft lottery. If the Raptors finish the season with the sixth-worst record, there is a 45.8 per cent chance that the pick will stay in the top six. The Raptors are six games ahead of the Portland Trail Blazers (19-56) and two games behind the Memphis Grizzlies (25-50)
This is the second matchup between the clubs this season. Toronto won the first matchup 97-94 to open the season on Oct. 25.
Raptors’ guard Bruce Brown left Tuesday’s game with right knee soreness and did not return. His status for tonight has yet to be announced. Poeltl (finger), Chris Boucher (knee), Scottie Barnes (hand), Ochai Agbaji (hip), and Jontay Porter (personal reasons) will not play
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