TORONTO—DeMar DeRozan scored 27 points and Kyle Lowry tallied 25 points and 11 assists as the Toronto Raptors rallied to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-110 in Andrew Wiggins’ homecoming game on Thursday night.
Wiggins scored 11 of his 25 points in the first quarter but the Timberwolves were no match for the offensive firepower of the Raptors at home.
Wiggins, who was the first overall draft pick in 2014, is from the Toronto area and receives plenty of attention each time he crosses the border to play.
Toronto’s Jonas Valanciunas added 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Zach LaVine scored 29 points and Karl-Anthony Towns recorded 17 points and 11 rebounds for Minnesota.
The Timberwolves took a one-point lead into the fourth quarter but consecutive three-pointers by Lowry and Patrick Patterson had the Raptors ahead by 12 points with less than five minutes to play.
LaVine hit a three-point shot with 3:06 to play to cut Toronto’s lead to seven points but the Raptors march continued.
Cory Joseph came off the bench to score 12 points for the Raptors and DeMarre Carroll scored 10.
Gorgui Dieng finished with 10 points for Minnesota.
Wiggins scored 11 points in the first quarter on five-for-seven shooting to lead the Timberwolves to a 32-22 lead. The Raptors overcame a nine-point deficit to tie the game with 4:45 left in the quarter.
Wiggins led all first-half scorers with 15 points. Lowry led the Raptors with 12 points.
DeRozan needs 250 more points to equal forward Chris Bosh as the Raptors all-time leading scorer.
Meanwhile, Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins and forward Matt Barnes are being sued by two people who claim the NBA players assaulted them at a New York night club early Monday morning.
No criminal charges have been filed against either Cousins or Barnes, who according to the Sacramento Bee have both hired attorney Alex Spiro to represent them.
Spiro has represented numerous athletes in high-profile cases, including Atlanta Hawks player Thabo Sefolosha, who was found not guilty of several charges in an incident at a club in New York in which his leg was broken.
Sefolosha sued the New York Police Department and won.
“We do not believe a crime was committed and are hopeful no charges will be pressed,” Spiro told ESPN on Monday.
Jasmine Besiso and Myrone Powell allege that Barnes choked Besiso and Cousins punched Powell in the face after Powell came to the aid of Besiso before dawn on Monday at Avenue night club in Manhattan.
Barnes allegedly elbowed Besiso in the face and knocked her unconscious. Cousins and Barnes then allegedly forced Powell to the ground and punched him.
Besiso and Powell filed the lawsuit in New York District Court on Wednesday and have requested a jury trial.
Cousins and Barnes were in New York with the Kings for a game against the New York Knicks on Sunday night.
