Raptors beat Timberwolves, continue dominance against Minnesota at home

TORONTO, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) — The Toronto Raptors defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 94-89 on Friday night to record their tenth consecutive home victory against Minnesota in NBA action.

With the win, Toronto improves to 10-8 at the Air Canada Center on the season and 16-3 all-time against the Timberwolves at home. The .842 winning percentage is the highest amongst all opponents in Raptors’ history.

Raptors head coach Dwane Casey is unable to explain this phenomenon against the team he coached for two seasons between 2005 and 2007.

“I don’t know. They’re a very good team, very explosive offensive team,” said Casey after the game.

Entering the game, Minnesota ranked second in the league in points scored with 107.1 points per game, only behind Portland’s 109.1.

Besides Minnesota, Toronto has also had success against other playoff bound opponents.

The Raptors are 12-5 (.759) against both the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers and 24-11 (.686) against the Washington Wizards.

In contrast, the Raptors’ worst home records have been against the Los Angeles Lakers and Utah Jazz, holding a 5-12 record (.294) against both franchises.

Each regular season, teams play exactly one home and away game against a team in the opposing conference. Of the remaining 52 games, teams will play either three or four games against teams in their conference.

In the franchise’s 17-year history, Toronto has played the Brooklyn Nets 36 times, the most in franchise history. Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Indiana and New York are tied for second with 35 games played.

The least faced opponents for Toronto at home are Dallas, Oklahoma City and Phoenix, all tied with 16 games played.

In total, including the games played this season, the Raptors have played a total of 732 home games with a record of 361-371 at home.

Of the 732 games, 3 were played in Copps Coliseum (Hamilton, Ontario), 6 at Maple Leafs Garden (Toronto), 117 at Skydome (Toronto) and the remaining 588 have been played at the present home court, the Air Canada Center.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/sports/2014-01/18/c_133055370.htm