The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Toronto Raptors 117 to 94 on Sunday, October 25, 2026, at Target Center in Minneapolis, handing Toronto its first loss of the season. Ja’Kobe Walter scored 22 points to lead the Raptors, starting in place of Kawhi Leonard, who was ruled out with swelling in his left knee.
The Leonard absence was late news. According to the Associated Press report of the game, the seven time All-Star, who returned to the Raptors this season after leading them to the NBA title in 2019, did not appear on the injury report until an hour before the game. Toronto’s rotation was rebuilt on the fly, and the first quarter showed it: Minnesota led 32 to 21 after one, holding the Raptors to 9 for 29 shooting, including 1 for 10 from three point range.
Timberwolves 117, Raptors 94: The Third Quarter Decides It
Toronto steadied briefly in the second quarter, outscoring Minnesota 26 to 23 to reach halftime down 55 to 47. The game broke open immediately after the break. Minnesota won the third quarter 35 to 15, stretching the lead to 90 to 62, and the margin reached 32 points in the fourth before Toronto’s closing group cut it back to 23 at the final buzzer.
The team numbers explain the gap. Minnesota shot 55.8 percent from the floor and 48.4 percent from three, against Toronto’s 38.5 percent overall and 26.3 percent from deep. The Timberwolves outrebounded the Raptors 49 to 34, with Rudy Gobert collecting 13 rebounds, and scored 56 points in the paint. Toronto fell to 2 and 1, while Minnesota improved to 3 and 0, having won its first three games by 25, 22 and 23 points.
Edwards Leads, Walter Answers
Anthony Edwards scored 26 points in 27 minutes for Minnesota, leading a balanced home opener performance. LaMelo Ball added 15 points in 16 minutes, going 4 for 5 from three point range while foul trouble limited his time, and contributed eight assists. Jaden McDaniels finished with 14 points, six rebounds and three blocks.
For Toronto, Walter’s 22 points on 7 for 12 shooting, with four rebounds, was the clear positive: a starting assignment handed to him at short notice, answered with the team’s highest scoring night. RJ Barrett added 20 points and Immanuel Quickley 19. The difficult line belonged to Scottie Barnes, who went scoreless on 0 for 12 shooting, a night the Raptors will treat as an outlier given the disrupted lineup around him. Kyle Anderson, returning to Minnesota where he played two plus seasons and 27 playoff games, received a loud ovation when he checked in during the third quarter.
What Comes Next for Toronto
One loss in a Leonard absence, on the road, against an unbeaten team, is not a reason to rewrite the Raptors’ season. The questions it leaves are specific and short term: the status of Leonard’s left knee, and whether the starting group’s shooting, 1 for 10 from three in the opening quarter, stabilises when the rotation is whole again.
Toronto hosts Orlando on Wednesday night, and Minnesota travels to Cleveland on Monday. For the Raptors, the Minneapolis game goes into the file as a reminder of how thin the margin becomes when a star sits late. Walter’s performance is the takeaway that travels home with them, and the final score, Timberwolves 117, Raptors 94, is the part to leave behind.
The Numbers Behind the Margin
The quarter by quarter line shows where the game was lost in stages. Toronto dropped the first quarter 32 to 21, won the second 26 to 23, then lost the third 35 to 15, the single stretch that turned a competitive road game into a rout. The fourth quarter, played largely by the depth groups, finished 32 to 27 for Toronto, which flatters the final margin rather than changing its meaning.
Toronto did win small categories that point to effort rather than execution. The Raptors recorded 15 steals to Minnesota’s 10 and scored 18 fast break points to the Timberwolves’ 12, signs of a team still competing on the defensive end even while its half court offense stalled. The gap was shot making and glass control: 20 fewer points from the field on nearly the same attempts, and a 49 to 34 rebounding deficit that ended possessions before they could become runs. Those are the two lines the coaching staff will circle before Orlando arrives on Wednesday.
