Key Takeaways
- Minnesota defeated Toronto 117-94 on October 25, handing the Raptors their first loss of the season.
- Scottie Barnes finished with zero points on 0-for-12 shooting, despite recording four steals and one block.
- Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 26 points, while Ja'Kobe Walter scored 22 for Toronto.
No Kawhi, no Barnes buckets, no chance
The Toronto Raptors lost Kawhi Leonard an hour before tip-off, then lost their other star without him leaving the floor. Scottie Barnes played 28 minutes and did not score a single point — 0-for-12 from the field, 0-for-5 from three, not one free-throw attempt — as the Minnesota Timberwolves thumped Toronto 117-94 at Target Center on Sunday night.
Leonard was a late scratch with swelling in his left knee, and Minnesota's defence simply loaded up on Barnes. He still found ways to contribute — four steals and a block — but finished a team-worst minus-27. Starting centre Jakob Poeltl was held scoreless too: 0-for-2 with one rebound in 19 minutes against Rudy Gobert.
The third quarter ended it
Toronto actually hung around for a half, trailing 55-47 despite the shooting woes. Then Minnesota opened the third quarter on a 22-6 run and outscored the Raptors 35-15 in the period to lead 90-62, and the fourth quarter was a formality.
Anthony Edwards led the Timberwolves with 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting. LaMelo Ball, Minnesota's splashy summer addition, added 15 points and eight assists in just 17 minutes, Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 15 off the bench, and Gobert grabbed 13 rebounds.
Ja'Kobe Walter led Toronto with 22 points, RJ Barrett added 20 and Immanuel Quickley 19 — but the Raptors (2-1) took their first loss of the season.
A perfect, punishing start for Minnesota
The Timberwolves are 3-0, and every win has been a blowout: three straight victories by 20 or more points to open a season, something only two other teams in NBA history have ever done — the 1962-63 Boston Celtics and the 2004-05 Utah Jazz.
The Twikup Take
One bad night doesn't define Barnes, but a star going 0-for-12 the moment Kawhi sits is exactly the fragility Toronto has to fix. Walter's 22 was the silver lining — the Raptors host Orlando on Wednesday, and the response will say a lot.
Photo: All-Pro Reels / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) — Scottie Barnes in action for the Toronto Raptors against the Washington Wizards on October 12, 2021.