TORONTO — The Timberwolves put tickets on sale Wednesday for a potential play-in game at Target Center following the end of the regular season.
The Wolves, of course, would like to avoid having to play that game and zoom right to the postseason as the No. 6 seed, but the tickets went on sale — just in case.
With each game that play-in looks likelier to happen, with the Wolves' latest loss coming 125-102 to the Raptors, their fourth loss in their last five.
The Wolves knew this stretch of the schedule with games against some of the league's best and hottest teams would test their ability to compete enough to get to the No. 6 seed. They are failing that test, quickly.
The Wolves are now three games behind Denver, and 2.5 behind Utah, three in the loss column, with just five games remaining.
The Wolves once led by 17, but that seemed a distant memory once Toronto's outside shooting got going like a juggernaut. Toronto was 18 for 36 from 3-point range and turned the night into a rout, just like Boston and Phoenix did to the Wolves last week. For all the strides the Wolves have made this season, the last week has shown them just how far they need to go to be among the league's elite.
Gary Trent Jr. had 29 points for Toronto while OG Anunoby had 22. Pascal Siakam had a triple-double with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists.
Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 24 points and eight rebounds and Karl-Anthony Towns had 16. D'Angelo Russell's shooting struggles continued with 13 points on 3-for-15.
Minnesota committed 23 turnovers, with 11 in the first quarter. But those weren't a bother early. Despite the miscues the Wolves led 30-20 after the first. Towns continued his dominance in the first quarter with multiple loud dunks over his defenders, seven rebounds and three assists.
The Wolves also clamped down defensively and didn't allow Pascal Siakam to score in the first quarter. Their defense limited Toronto to just 31% shooting in the first while they hit 58% when they weren't turning the ball over.
That all added up to a productive first quarter in spite of the turnovers and the bench unit kept that rolling in the early second quarter. The Wolves extended their lead to 17 with a 10-3 run to open the second.
Then the Wolves' propensity to leave open 3-point shooters caught up to them in the second. Toronto converted 8 of 12 from 3-point range in the second quarter and got back in the game in a hurry. The Raptors reeled off a 12-2 run to make the score 46-42 before coach Chris Finch called a timeout.
Towns couldn't remain as dominant in the second quarter as he was in the first upon re-entering. He didn't register a shot attempt and had just one point in nearly six minutes.
The Wolves just couldn't keep the Raptors from burying 3s and getting their offensive back on track. Anunoby had four 3s by halftime, which Toronto led 62-60, while Trent and Precious Achiuwa each had three.
Toronto was 12 for 19 from 3-point range in the first half, 10 for 31 from inside the arc.
It didn't get any better for the Wolves in the second half. Toronto kept firing from outside and finally got some traction at the rim while the Wolves offense went cold outside of Edwards. The Raptors also raced out for 27 fast-break points as the Wolves looked helpless. They never mounted a serious run or comeback as Toronto cruised to an easy win.
