MINNEAPOLIS – Julius Randle had 24 points, nine rebounds and five assists and the Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Toronto Raptors 112-101 on Saturday night.

Anthony Edwards also scored 24 points for Minnesota, while Rudy Gobert contributed 15 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks.

Toronto's Gradey Dick led all scorers with 25 points, while Scottie Barnes had 20 points and Ochai Agbaji added 19 for the Raptors.

Takeaways

Raptors: Playing again without leading returning scorer RJ Barrett, who is dealing with a shoulder injury on a daily basis, Toronto failed to get its offense going early. The Raptors missed eight of their first nine shots and fell behind 16-3.

Timberwolves: After reaching the Western Conference finals, the Timberwolves sold 11,000 season tickets for the first time since 1990, their first season at Target Center. The home opener crowd got their first look at Randle and Donte DiVencenzo, acquired in a trade with the New York Knicks, and the duo did not disappoint. Randle filled the stat sheet while DiVincenzo scored 16 points, including four 3-pointers.

Key moment

The Raptors trailed by 12 at halftime but started the third quarter with a spurt, cutting Minnesota's lead to single digits for the first time since the start of the first quarter. But Edwards, Jaden McDaniels and Randle combined for 13 straight points to extend Minnesota's lead back to 78-56. The Wolves kept the Raptors at bay the rest of the night.

Key statistics

After the Raptors shot 46 free throws in their win over Milwaukee on Friday, they only went over the line 13 times for nine.

Next

The Timberwolves host Dallas on Tuesday night in a rematch of last season's Western Conference Finals. Toronto returns home to face Denver on Monday night.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba