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Wolves Halt Slide With 16-Point Defeat Of Toronto Raptors

(Sports Network) - Kevin Love collected his 33rd straight double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds and the Minnesota Timberwolves ended a six-game skid, topping the Toronto Raptors 103-87 at Target Center.

Martell Webster scored 15 points in a reserve role while Wesley Johnson and Jonny Flynn added 14 and 10 points, respectively, off the bench for Minnesota.

The win put a stop to another negative trend for the Timberwolves, ending their streak off 12 consecutive loses to Toronto. Their last win against the Raptors came on January 21, 2004.

Andrea Bargnani and rookie Ed Davis both scored 15 points to lead the Raptors, whose winless streak reached 11 straight. Amir Johnson added 11 points while Jose Calderon and Jerryd Bayless both contributed 10 points in the loss. Davis grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds.

Leading 49-39 at the half, the Timberwolves quickly widened their lead to 14, 59-45, with a Luke Ridnour driving layup at 8:05. Toronto worked their deficit down to 10, 67-57 with a Bayless three at 3:42, however, Johnson responded with a three of his own just over 30 seconds later to start a 13-2 run for Minnesota to end the quarter.

Webster capped the run with a three-pointer with 15.6 remaining, and Minnesota took an 80-59 lead into the final stanza.

Minnesota added it on in the fourth as a Anthony Tolliver three opened up the quarter, and a Webster three-pointer at the midway point widened the Timberwolves' advantage to a game-high 28, 98-70.

The Raptors never made a considerable run down the stretch.

Minnesota held a 21-20 lead after a back-and-forth first quarter. The Timberwolves shot 52.4 percent from the field in the second quarter as they widened their margin to 49-39 at the half.

Game Notes

Minnesota is now 7-0 when holding opponents to under 100 points...Love leads the league with 42 double-doubles...The Timberwolves shot 73.3 percent from the line, 72.7 percent for Toronto...Minnesota forced 15 Toronto turnovers that they turned into 18 points.

Photographs by Micah Taylor, clairity, and Fibonacci Blue used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.