Toronto, ON (SportsNetwork.com) - With the Minnesota Timberwolves in the midst of a losing streak, Toronto was one of the last places they wanted to see in order to get back to their winning ways.
Kyle Lowry had 24 points on 6-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc with six assists and five rebounds to lead the Raptors to a 94-89 win, Toronto's 10th consecutive home victory against the T-Wolves.
Amir Johnson added 19 points, Terrence Ross had 16 and DeMar DeRozan chipped in with 15 points for the Raptors, who picked up their sixth consecutive win overall at Air Canada Centre.
"I thought Amir Johnson did a yeoman's job down low and our bigs did well," Toronto coach Dwane Casey admitted. "You have to command the paint against them and box out."
Meanwhile, Minnesota has lost three straight overall and was paced by Kevin Martin, who finished with 18 points. Kevin Love recorded a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Jose Juan Barea added 14 off the bench in the setback.
Lowry buried two deep 3-pointers as part of a 13-2 run midway through the third to help the Raptors increase their halftime lead to 67-53.
Barea countered with six straight points -- including the final eight for Minnesota -- and the Timberwolves trailed 69-61 going into the fourth.
Greivis Vasquez canned a three with 8:44 left in the game to stretch the Raptors lead to 73-63.
Minnesota, however, stormed back with a 9-2 sprint over the next two minutes led by Barea. The reserve guard made a pair at the line to start the sequence and added two assists, highlighted by a halfcourt feed in transition to Luc Mbah a Moute.
The margin was five in favor of Toronto when Martin raised up from 30-feet away and buried a trey to make it 85-83. DeRozan answered at the other end with a turnaround jumper from inside to make it a two possession game with 1:11 left.
Barea had two chances to cut into the deficit, but his first attempt at a three was short and his second attempt was blocked by Johnson inside.
On the subsequent Toronto possession, Lowry put the game away with a corner three with 14.9 seconds left to make it 90-83.
"We played with a better effort," said Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio. "Offensively we missed some shots, we fought back. They are a very good team."
DeRozan scored six points during a 12-2 burst out of the gate for the hosts, however, Minnesota followed with six straight to close the gap.
The Timberwolves cut the deficit to two after a Martin jumper, but the Raptors scored the final five points of the frame to take a 22-15 lead into the second.
Toronto pushed its margin to 13 after a Lowry three with 3:42 remaining in the half, but the Wolves ended the stanza on a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to 44-40 at the break.
Game Notes
The Raptors wore their special Canadian Forces jersey as part of Canadian Armed Forces Night. Toronto is now 3-5 all-time when wearing the camouflage uniforms ... The last time Toronto won six consecutive games at home was Jan. 17 - Feb. 10, 2010 when the team won eight straight ... Patrick Patterson finished with 11 points off the bench, while Jonas Valanciunas had 11 rebounds in the win ... Nikola Pekovic had 13 points and six rebounds in the setback.
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