Wolves-Toronto game preview

Champs still formidable in East

Wolves update: Karl-Anthony Towns returned to the lineup Friday after a 15-game absence, with Ryan Saunders saying the Timberwolves were going to monitor Towns' conditioning when deciding how long to play him. With a back-to-back set of games, Towns could still be on a minutes restriction after recovering from his recent illness. … To help provide point guard depth, the Wolves recalled Jordan McLaughlin from Iowa in advance of Friday's game. … New acquisition Allen Crabbe could make his debut Saturday. He was not with the team Friday in Indianapolis. … The Wolves have won three out of the past four against the Raptors at Target Center. They are 15-31 all time against Toronto.

Raptors update: Despite losing Kawhi Leonard from the 2018-19 championship team, the Raptors reaming among the best teams in the Eastern Conference, improving to 27-14 on Friday with a 140-111 home rout of Washington. Pascal Siakam was the league's most improved player a season ago and he has taken another leap in production with Leonard gone. He is averaging 24.2 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists. He is shooting 39% from three-point range and is taking 6.1 of those per game, up from 2.7 a season ago. … Kyle Lowry, 33, is sixth in assists with 7.8 per game while averaging 20.2 points. Guard Fred VanVleet has also stepped up, increasing his scoring average from 11 to 18 while becoming a fixture in the starting lineup. VanVleet (hamstring) has missed the past five games but is expected to return to face the Wolves.

CHRIS HINE