Minnesota Timberwolves forward Andrew Wiggins (22) drives to the basket as Toronto Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas (17) defends during the first quarter at Air Canada Centre.Dan Hamilton
The Toronto Raptors spoiled the Andrew Wiggins homecoming Wednesday night and continued their recent mastery of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the process.
Jonas Valanciunas had a double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds and DeMar DeRozan added 21 points in a 105-100 Toronto victory. Kevin Martin led all scorers with 37 points for Minnesota.
The injury-depleted Timberwolves turned in a strong effort against the Atlantic Division leaders.
Toronto led for most of the game but Minnesota cut the lead to two with 2:01 to play. DeRozan answered with a rainbow jump shot and after a quick steal, Lou Williams scored on a layup to give the Raptors a six-point lead.
With 55 seconds left, Greivis Vasquez hit a three-pointer as the shot-clock expired to give Toronto some breathing room.
It was the first pro game in Toronto for Wiggins, the 20-year-old forward from nearby Vaughan, Ont.
He showed flashes of his sky-high potential but was hampered by early foul trouble. The first overall pick in last year's NBA draft had 15 points on the night.
Toronto guard Kyle Lowry left the game midway through the third quarter with a back contusion and did not return.
The Raptors improved to 41-27 by beating the Timberwolves for the seventh straight time and 11th time in a row at home. Toronto entered play a half-game up on fourth-place Chicago in the Eastern Conference standings.
The Bulls played at Indiana on Wednesday night. Minnesota, currently last in the Western Conference, fell to 14-53.
The Raptors led by as many as seven points in the early going but Martin's hot shooting kept the Timberwolves close. He hit four three-point attempts and had 18 points in the first quarter, the most by a Toronto opponent in any quarter this season.
The Timberwolves led 32-31 after one quarter. Early in the second, Lowry hit a three-pointer to put Toronto ahead 41-36 but miscues and missed shots let Minnesota hang around.
Lorenzo Brown hit a putback at 2:18 to give the Timberwolves a 50-48 lead. A sloppy half marked by 18 turnovers closed with the teams tied at 54.
Valanciunas provided some spark early in the third quarter, using his size in the low post and scoring back-to-back buckets to cap an 11-2 run that put Toronto ahead 65-56.
In the fourth, Terrence Ross hit a three-pointer with 9:25 left and fed Amir Johnson for a dunk on the next possession as Toronto stretched its lead to double digits. Martin hit one of his five three-pointers to cut the deficit to four points with 7:39 left to play.
Minnesota forward Anthony Bennett of Brampton, Ont., didn't play due to an ankle injury. Former Raptors head coach Sam Mitchell ran the Minnesota bench with Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders away from the team for personal reasons.
The Timberwolves had only eight players available due to a rash of injuries.
Notes: A sellout crowd of 19,800 was on hand. ... Lowry and Minnesota's Chase Budinger were assessed technical fouls after jawing at each other at the end of the first quarter. ... Prime Minister Stephen Harper was in attendance. ... The Raptors will visit Chicago on Friday before returning home for a game Sunday against the New York Knicks. The Timberwolves will continue their road trip Thursday in New York. ... Toronto improved its all-time record vs Minnesota to 25-12 and 17-3 at home. ... Wiggins became the 15th Canadian to appear in a regular-season game in Toronto since 1995.