Scrambling to fill the void of Big Al's 23 points and 11 rebounds, the Wolves struggled more defensively Tuesday night against the previously reeling Toronto Raptors, who prevailed 110-102 in front of 12,722 at Target Center.

The Raptors had lost six straight. But they found ample room inside to distribute the ball to center Jermaine O'Neal. And they efficiently dished 27 assists to keep the Wolves thoroughly off balance and win their ninth straight game in the series since January 2004.

Andrea Bargnani's 19-foot jump shot with 5:32 remaining gave Toronto a two-point lead it would not relinquish as the Raptors put up 69 second-half points and outscored Minnesota 37-22 over the final 12 minutes.

"We gave up 69 points in the second half. That's ridiculous," Wolves coach Kevin McHale said.

Despite leading by 13 points midway through the third quarter and 80-73 entering the fourth, the Wolves failed to cool Toronto's hot shooters, losing their fourth straight and seventh in the past eight games entering the all-star break.

Jefferson's absence limited the Wolves' offensive options, so they engaged Toronto in a fast-break challenge. That proved costly on the defensive end as they yielded easy baskets in transition and allowed the Raptors to run their offense through O'Neal, who scored 10 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter.

"We let our offense dictate our defense too much tonight," guard Mike Miller said. "We got caught up in an up-tempo, started making some shots then we got lax on defense. We've just got to keep playing the same way we've been playing defensively."

Randy Foye led the Wolves with a career-high 33 points, including 15 in the second quarter, while rookie Kevin Love had 15 points and 11 rebounds starting in place Jefferson.

But Minnesota had no answer for the outside shooting of the Raptors' Joey Graham (24 points), Bargnani and Jason Kapono (18 points apiece).

"Even though we were fast-breaking and scoring, you've got to get stops in order to win," said forward Ryan Gomes. "That's going to have to be the focus, team defense."

Without Jefferson and forward Craig Smith (broken rib), McHale went deep to his bench to plug holes inside.

Brian Cardinal played 14 minutes, and Jason Collins, a virtual ghost since McHale inherited coaching duties in early December, played nine minutes.

The Wolves (17-34) offered little offensively through much of the first half, shooting a paltry 33.3 percent to fall behind 23-16 after one quarter.

The deficit grew to 10 midway through the second until the Wolves snapped to life.

Gomes buried a three-pointer with 1:29 left to vault Minnesota into the lead, part of a 15-0 finishing run that allowed the Wolves to take a 48-41 lead into halftime.

Foye, who hit seven of his first 10 field-goal attempts, had 17 points at the break. Consecutive threes by Foye and Miller expanded the Wolves' margin to 13 with 8:21 left in the third quarter, and they grinded their way into the fourth up 80-73.

The Raptors, however, were determined to attack Love and the basket with O'Neal.

"Kevin Love is going to be a great player," Toronto coach Jay Triano said. "But I didn't know how he was going to be able to handle Jermaine."

The Wolves have six days off for the all-star break before reconvening next week in Washington and trying to find a way to regain the midseason swagger that allowed them to enjoy a 10-4 January.