Raptors Rapid Recap - Toronto 106 - Minnesota 100

 -This one was a grind, but the Toronto Raptors took care of business with a 106 to 100 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.  The Raps got solid production from a number of players in the win, and some solid D down the stretch when it mattered most.

-Much like the Nets match on Saturday evening, the first half of this one was a sloppy, see-saw affair where neither team looked to grab control.  Toronto held a one point lead at half but used a great third quarter to streak ahead by as many as 13. 

-However during the fourth, Jonny Flynn and Al Jefferson went on the attack and closed the gap to as few as two points with only minutes remaning.  But unlike recent games, Toronto refused to fold, and got clutch baskets from Bosh, Turkoglu and Bargnani down the stretch to secure the W.

-Bosh registered his career-best 44th double-double posting 21 and 10 on the night, but it was Andrea Bargnani who was the X factor this evening.  He had 19 and 7, as well as 4 assists and 2 steals in the win.  He was much more aggressive than he had been the past few games, and it showed in terms of his shot selection, and shots in general as he took the most on the club last night.

-Toronto's bench was huge too as Antoine Wright, Sonny Weems and Jarrett Jack all gave Toronto a boost in this one.  Weems in particular was a terror in limited minutes, all over the court adding 3 rebounds and 3 assists to his 13 points.

-For the Timberwolves it seemed to be a tale of two teams; the perenially lottery-bound club who was just going through the motions, and the one with a solid base of young talent, capable of surprising unsuspecting clubs.  It was the former which took the court for most of this match, with the latter making it interesting late.  However some questionable decisions offensively towards the end kept this from being the team's 10th home win of the season.

-Up next for TO?  Two tough matches against the Jazz and Nuggets.  With both the Bulls and Heat scoring wins tonight, this victory was crucial and now hopefully the Raps can take some of this momentum into the next few matches.