Edwards scores 30 points as Timberwolves rally for 5th win in six games, beat Raptors 128-126

TORONTO (AP) — Anthony Edwards scored 13 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter, Bones Hyland had 20 points and the Minnesota Timberwolves overcame an 18-point deficit to beat the Toronto Raptors 128-126 on Wednesday.

Minnesota won in Toronto for the first time since Jan. 21, 2004. The Timberwolves' previous road win in the series came Feb. 14, 2021, when the Raptors were playing in Tampa because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jaden McDaniels scored 19 points, Naz Reid and Julius Randle each had 17 and Donte DiVincenzo added 15 as the Timberwolves won for the fifth time in six games.

Rudy Gobert had 10 points and 12 rebounds as the Timberwolves improved to 14-5 against Eastern Conference opponents.

Brandon Ingram scored 25 points, Immanuel Quickley had 23 and Scottie Barnes had 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Raptors.

Ingram hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer, but Toronto lost for the fourth time in its past five home games.

Sandro Mamukelashvili scored 14 points for Toronto. RJ Barrett and Collin Murray-Boyles each had 13.

Minnesota trailed 77-59 after the Raptors scored five straight points to start the third quarter. Toronto led 104-94 after three.

Edwards’ driving layup with 2:26 left in the fourth gave the Timberwolves a one-point edge, 118-117, their first lead since early in the second.

Edwards finished 1 for 8 from 3-point range but made 10 of 15 attempts from inside the arc and shot 7 for 10 at the free throw line.

Toronto made seven of its 13 turnovers in the final period, leading to 11 points for the Timberwolves.

Guard Ochai Agbaji was not with the Raptors on Wednesday in the final game before Thursday afternoon’s trade deadline.

Timberwolves: Host New Orleans on Friday.

Raptors: Host Chicago on Thursday.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Minnesota Timberwolves' Julius Randle (30) drives at Toronto Raptors' Sandro Mamukelashvili (54) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Toronto, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Minnesota Timberwolves' Anthony Edwards (5) protects the ball from Toronto Raptors' Scottie Barnes (4) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Toronto, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Minnesota Timberwolves' Anthony Edwards (5) protects the ball from Toronto Raptors' RJ Barrett (9) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Toronto, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Minnesota Timberwolves' Jaden McDaniels (3) is fouled by Toronto Raptors' Collin Murray-Boyles (centre back) as Brandon Ingram (3) defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Toronto, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Minnesota Timberwolves' Jaden McDaniels (3) passes to Rudy Gobert (27) as Toronto Raptors' Collin Murray-Boyles (top left) and Brandon Ingram (right) defend during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Toronto, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A new Tennessee law has eased up on two longstanding financial hurdles for people with felony sentences who want their voting rights back, including a unique requirement among states that they must have fully paid their child support costs.

The Republican-supermajority Legislature approved the Democratic-sponsored change, which now lets people prove they have complied for the last year with child support orders, such as payment plans. The legislation also unties the payment of all court costs from voting rights restoration.

Advocates for years have sought various changes to Tennessee’s voting rights restoration system at the statehouse and in court. They say loosening these two rules marks the biggest rollback of restrictions to voting rights restoration in decades.

“This is huge and this is history,” said Keeda Haynes, senior attorney for the advocacy group Free Hearts led by formerly incarcerated women like her.

Most Republicans voted for it and Democrats supported it unanimously. The law took effect immediately upon Republican Gov. Bill Lee's signature last week.

“I think people are at a point where they want to just remove the barriers out of the way and allow people to be fully functional members of society,” said Democratic House Minority Leader Karen Camper, a bill sponsor.

In 2023, the state decided gun rights were required to restore the right to vote, and shelved a paperwork process that didn't require going to court. Election officials said a court ruling made the changes necessary, though voting rights advocates said officials misinterpreted the order.

Last year, lawmakers untangled voting and gun rights. But voting rights advocates opposed some of the bill's other provisions, such as keeping the process in the courts, where costs can rack up if someone isn't ruled indigent.

Easing up on the financial requirements uncommonly split legislative Republicans. For instance, Senate Speaker Randy McNally voted against it, while House Speaker Cameron Sexton supported it, noting that people aren't getting forgiveness on making their payments.

“They need to continue paying that, and as long as they do, then there’s a possibility (to restore their voting rights)," Sexton said. "I really think that’s harder for people to argue against than maybe what something else was.”

Republican Rep. Johnny Garrett, who voted no, said in committee his vote would hinge on whether “there still can be an (child support) arrearage owed beyond that 12 months.”

For some, backed-up child support payments could reach hundreds or thousands of dollars, and court costs could be hundreds or thousands more, said Gicola Lane, Campaign Legal Center's Restore Your Vote community partnership senior manager.

Advocates credited their narrowed focus, omitting goals such as automatic restoration of rights, no longer tying restitution payments to voting rights, or offering a path for certain people to restore their right who are permanently disenfranchised, including those convicted of voter fraud or most murder charges.

The bill passed the Senate last year and the House this year.

Lawmakers gave the child support requirement final passage in 2006 within an overhaul bill that also created a voting rights restoration process outside of court. Critics said the child support rule penalized impoverished parents.

Democrats were then narrowly hanging onto legislative leadership in both chambers. Republicans held a slim Senate majority but GOP defectors voted for a Democratic speaker.

Last year marked the dismissal of a five-year-old federal lawsuit over Tennessee’s voting-rights restoration system. Free Hearts and the Campaign Legal Center represented plaintiffs in the long-delayed case, which saw some election policy changes along the way.

Roughly 184,000 people have completed supervision for felonies and their offenses don't preclude them from restoring their voting rights, according to a plaintiffs expert’s 2023 estimate in the lawsuit. About one in 10 were estimated to have outstanding child support payments, and more than six in 10 owed court courts, restitution or both, the expert said.

Both Republican and Democratic-led states have eased the voting rights restoration process in recent years. Some states have added complexities.

In Florida, after voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2018 restoring the right to vote for people with felony convictions, the Republican-controlled Legislature watered that down by requiring payment of fines, fees and court costs.

Voting rights are automatically restored upon release in nearly half of states. In 15 others, it occurs after parole, probation or a similar period and sometimes requires paying outstanding court costs, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In Maine and Vermont, people with felonies keep their voting rights in prison, the NCSL says.

Ten other states including Tennessee require additional government action. Virginia ’s governor must intervene to restore voting rights of people convicted of felonies. In some states, including Tennessee, certain conviction types render someone ineligible.

However, Virginia lawmakers this year have passed a proposed state constitutional amendment to ask voters whether they want automatic voting rights restoration after someone is released from prison. Kentucky lawmakers have proposed a similar change for voters' consideration that would automatically restore voting rights after certain completed sentences, including probation.

FILE - The Tennessee Capitol is seen, Jan. 22, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)