Toronto @ Minnesota preview

Last Meeting ( Apr 9, 2019 ) Toronto 120, Minnesota 100

Karl-Anthony Towns is back from a knee injury and the two-time All-Star center will likely be in the lineup when the Minnesota Timberwolves face the visiting Toronto Raptors on Saturday. Minnesota went 5-10 while Towns was sidelined with a knee injury and the struggles continued in his return on Friday as the Timberwolves suffered a 116-114 loss to the host Indiana Pacers.

Towns scored 27 points in 28 minutes against the Pacers as Minnesota lost its fourth straight game but coach Ryan Saunders was encouraged afterward. "You never like losing but you can feel good about some things that we saw," Saunders told reporters. "I thought (Towns) in 28 minutes, with 27 points when he is still trying to find his rhythm ... I'm happy with how he looked." Toronto is averaging 135 points during a modest two-game winning streak and matched the franchise-record for points in a game with Friday's 140-111 victory over the visiting Washington Wizards. "We're trusting one another and we're moving the ball and letting the offense work for us," backup swingman Norman Powell told the media afterward.

TIME: 8 p.m. ET. TV: FS North Plus, Sportsnet One

ABOUT THE RAPTORS (27-14): Powell scored 28 points in 30 minutes on Friday in his third outing since returning from a 11-game absence due to a shoulder injury. He made four of Toronto's 22 3-pointers and has connected on 11-of-20 from 3-point range since his return while averaging 23.7 points. Reserve guard Terence Davis matched his career high of 23 points and made a career-best five 3-pointers while center Marc Gasol matched his career best of six 3-pointers while recording a season-high 20 points in his second outing after missing 12 contests with a hamstring injury.

ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (15-26): Towns will probably be in the lineup on the second end of the back-to-back but Saunders didn't want to officially declare it until waiting to see how the big man's knee feels on Saturday. "I was happy with his wind for the most part," Saunders told reporters. "We let him go a little longer in the third quarter and I was happy with that. ... We'll see how he feels." Small forward Andrew Wiggins scored 22 points on 9-of-17 shooting against Indiana after enduring a three-game slump in which he averaged 10.3 points and made just 11-of-38 shots.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Raptors have won 25 of the past 29 meetings.

2. Swingman Allen Crabbe is expected to make his Minnesota debut after being acquired in the deal with Atlanta that sent PG Jeff Teague to the Hawks.

3. Toronto G Fred VanVleet (hamstring) is expected to return after missing the past five games.

PREDICTION: Raptors 109, Timberwolves 104