Having won 14 of their last 15, including wins over the Portland Blazers, Los Angeles Clippers and Miam Heat, the Toronto Raptors had a reason to feel confident. The Minnesota Timberwolves sat at 16-37 and was coming off a loss to the New Orleans Pelicans.

A perfect opportunity for Toronto to get an easy win and head into the All-Star break on a four-game winning streak. And that's exactly how it seemed it would be for the Raptors. The Raptors came out on fire and led by as many as 18 points in the 2nd quarter.  DeRozan was playing like the All-Star he is and was carrying the team to another win and all was well for the Raptors.

Until, the second half came around.

"We got back in the locker room and just talked among ourselves and found out what we needed to do," Timberwolves star Andrew Wiggins said.

Lowry got in foul trouble and Jonas Valanciunas couldn't handle Towns in the paint and the Timberwolves came back to take the lead early in the fourth quarter. When the Raptors got that big lead in the 2nd quarter, they clearly got too relaxed and they found themselves in a battle in the 4th quarter.

Point Guard Ricky Rubio hit a huge three-pointer that gave the Timberwolves a 104-98 lead with just over 5 minutes to play. The Raptors fought back to tie the game with under 3 minutes to play, but Wiggins hit clutch shot after clutch shot and prevented the Raptors from taking the game back.

This is exactly what Raptors coach Dwane Casey was trying to avoid heading into All-Star break.  He put a huge emphasis on the need for the team to realize that there is still another game to play before the party starts in Toronto. The Raptors were facing a Timberwolves team with the third-worst record in the West.  However, Toronto is notorious for playing up, or in this case down, to the level of their opponent.

DeMar DeRozan, who was Toronto's leading scorer on the night, was visibly disappointed in the locker room after the game.  

Kyle Lowry had a simple message. "We'll see them again," the All-Star Point Guard said.

The Raptors will enjoy an eight-day break before facing the Chicago Bulls, a team they always seem to struggle with.

TOP PERFORMERS

DeMar DeRozan: 35 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block

Karl-Anthony Towns: 35 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 blocks

POST-GAME NOTES

Toronto shot just 10-for-31 from beyond the arc.

68 points in the first half was the most for the Raptors all season.

Bismack Biyombo had to leave the game in the second quarter due to an injury.  He would return in the second half.

The Wolves were without Kevin Garnett, Nikola Pekovic and Kevin Martin.