1 stud and 1 dud from Raptors’ tense win against Timberwolves

Gary Trent Jr. and the Toronto Raptors went from an unbeatable squad that pulled off eight victories in a row to a team that was on the losing end of two straight games in a matter of days. With Karl-Anthony Towns and the Minnesota Timberwolves up next on the schedule and Fred VanVleet out, Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby needed to step up.

The Raptors started the evening off in scorching fashion as they could not miss from 3-point range. Unfortunately, the lack of consistent spacing and scoring came back to haunt them. A Timberwolves zone combined with Rising Star Jaden McDaniels dominating down low helped give Minnesota momentum.

The Timberwolves blew several opportunities to run away with the win, which led to the Raptors completely taking over in the fourth quarter. Toronto ended the night with a 103-91 victory that should help them fend off challengers in the Eastern Conference playoff hunt.

The Raptors may have lost a heartbreaker against the Nuggets and forgot to show up against the Pelicans, but this victory will help them carry some momentum into the All-Star break. Outside of one or two disappointments, Toronto pulled out the win thanks to a very balanced, united team effort.

Gary Trent Jr. supplied more scoring for the Toronto Raptors.

Trent has been extremely productive when VanVleet has had to sit out this season, as he and he alone ended up getting tasked with pumping Toronto up from the perimeter on offense. While there were some sluggish moments in this game for Trent, Toronto would not have been in this game without No. 33 tonight.

Trent recorded 30 points on 10-24 shooting and 5-12 from 3-point range. Trent may not have had the best second or third quarter given his ineffectiveness, but he was dominant at the start and end of this game. Towns was once again on fire in the post, but Trent helped Toronto stand up to him.

On a night where the Raptors had missed 13 of their 14 3-pointers during the second and third quarters, Trent’s hot start and scintillating finish were enough to help Toronto pull out the victory.

The likes of Scottie Barnes and Thad Young deserve mention here, as Toronto got some nice two-way contributions from their 20-year-old phenom and 33-year-old greybeard. Trent’s scoring, however, kept the Raptors in this game for large stretches. Toronto has something very intriguing on their hands in the dynamic shooting guard.

OG Anunoby had another tough outing for the Toronto Raptors.

Players will go into slumps in the NBA, but Anunoby’s recent rough patch has been very alarming. On top of the fact he had just five shots in two games during the losses to Denver and New Orleans, he started this game about as ice-cold as a player could be.

Anunoby ended the night with 10 points on 4-11 shooting. He tallied just one rebound and one assist. Those 10 points are a bit misleading, as a few of his makes were shots right near the rim. Anunoby has gone 2-12 from 3-point range over the last three games, which has been tough on a Raptors roster that already lacks shooting.

Anunoby was once again robust on the defensive end, but he was taking his lumps on offense once again. No player on this team needs the All-Star Break more than him. Hopefully, the time off gives him the mental break that he needs to rediscover the jumper that made him an effective scorer earlier in the year.