Unless Toronto is forced to play another season there, or unless the Timberwolves and Raptors both somehow make it to the finals, Sunday was the only NBA game the Wolves will likely ever play in Tampa, Fla.
They will go into the record books as 1-0 after beating the Raptors 116-112.
Ricky Rubio came into the night having hit just eight three-pointers on the season, but he shot 4 of 8 from deep and it wasn't a coincidence that Rubio played his best game in a while that the Wolves won even with D'Angelo Russell out again because of left leg soreness.
Rubio finished with 16 points and five assists as all five Wolves starters hit double figures. Karl-Anthony Towns had 20, Malik Beasley had 20 and Anthony Edwards had 18.
Kyle Lowry led Toronto with 24.
Rubio would help lead the charge ahead for the Wolves, who scored seven straight to grab a 105-98 lead. Rubio hit a three and helped set up Jarred Vanderbilt, who got the start and scored 12, for two more buckets.
The Wolves led 112-110 after Towns fouled out with a block on DeAndre' Bebmry with 38 seconds remaining. A Kyle Lowry layup made it 114-112 but Beasley stepped out of bounds with 12.1 seconds remaining, leading to a chance to tie for Toronto. Pascal Siakam challenged rookie Jaden McDaniels one-on-one, but Siakam's layup attempt rimmed out.
Jordan McLaughlin iced the game at the line.
The Wolves opened with some pretty offense as 4 of their first 7 three-point attempts fell through the rim and had a 22-14 lead even as Towns opened the game without a point. Rubio hit two of those threes.
The Raptors defensive focus was double Towns and making him give up the ball. The Wolves hit at a decent enough clip to grab that early lead despite committing five turnovers in the first quarter.
Rubio had eight points early while Edwards had seven.
Towns wouldn't get his first bucket of the night until the 3 minutes, 23 second mark of the second quarter on a three that moved him into sole possession of first place past Andrew Wiggins for most threes hit in Wolves franchise history.
Towns would finish the first half with seven while Beasley had 11.
VanVleet enabled Toronto to gradually take the lead away from the Wolves after the Wolves held it most of the first half. His 19 first-half points helped the Raptors go up 58-52 in the final minutes for their biggest lead of the half. A Towns putback made it 58-54 at the break as the Raptors had 13 fast-break points to the Wolves' zero.
The third quarter featured a heavy dose of Edwards attacking the rim, specifically to the left side of the rim. Edwards showcased his ability to use his off-hand, the left, with almost equal strength to his right on a few occasions and then on another drive when he went to the left side of the hopp he elevated over his defender for an electrifying dunk. The Wolves trailed 77-74 with 4:48 to play in the third, but a McDaniels three tied the score and the Wolves were on their way to close the quarter strong. A 17-2 run gave the Wolves their biggest lead of the night 91-79. The Wolves shot 15 of 20 in the quarter, which included Beasley hitting three more threes.
Toronto fought back over the opening minutes of the fourth and chipped away while the Wolves' bench tried to keep the lead for the starters. Shortly after Towns re-entered the game under eight minutes to play, the Raptors tied the game 96-96 on a Kyle Lowry runner. Rubio helped the Wolves get the lead back, a lead the Wolves barely kept.
