Karl-Anthony Towns was on target in his return to Minnesota.
Towns made a triumphant return to the Target Center in Minnesota last night as he led the Knicks to a 133-107 win over the Timberwolves that wasn’t as close as the final score would indicate.
The Knicks (17-10) won their fourth consecutive road game and have won 12 of their last 16.
Towns, who played 9 seasons with the T-Wolves, received a video tribute and a standing ovation when he was introduced and then proceeded to destroy his old team with 32 points, 20 rebounds and six assists.
“It [the tribute] meant a lot, it meant a lot,” Towns told MSG after the game. “I’ve given a large part of my life and my soul to the city for nine seasons and to know that fans appreciated what I gave here. It meant a lot to me and it meant a lot to my family.”
Coach Tom Thibodeau was impressed with the fact that Towns was all business and did not get caught up with the emotions that came along with his first game back in Minnesota.
“Coming in, the way he was in the morning. He came in early in the morning, he went through great concentration and got here early tonight so he handled all the stuff. He knew what it would be and I thought he handled it great,” Thibodeau said.
Mikal Bridges added 29 points with 6 rebounds and 6 assists while Jalen Brunson only scored 14 points but ran the team well and had 7 assists. The Knicks, who shot 52% and 44% (20 for 45) from three, had 39 assists as they put on a clinic of team basketball against a Minnesota team that really had no answers.
“Jalen, I thought he didn’t fight the game. He read the game really well and he created a lot of advantages. We had 39 assists, a lot of it was dribble penetration and then making the right read,” said Thibodeau.
Since being benched in the fourth quarter against Charlotte in late November, Bridges has lifted his game. In his past eight games, the 28-year old veteran is 25 for 58 from beyond the arc and is averging 22.1 PPG.
“He’s [Bridges] got a great rhythm going now,” Thibodeau said. “He understands his teammates a lot better, his teammates understand him a lot better. He’s playing a great floor game, he’s moving without the ball, he’s getting down the floor quickly in transition.”
Julius Randle came out on fire against his former team. Randle scored the first four points of the game and had 15 of his 24 points in the first quarter but showed some reminders of the things (5 turnovers and some poor decisions) he used to do to frustrate fans when he wore the Knick uniform.
Donte DiVincenzo scored 15 points in 25 minutes but was not really that much of a factor against his old team as the restless crowd found numerous opportunities to boo the home team.
The Knicks were so dominant that Coach Tom Thibodeau was able to empty his bench with nine minutes left in the fourth quarter.
With a little over two minutes left in the first quarter, Minnesota had a 29-22 lead and led 33-32 after one but it was all Knicks from there.
Towns scored 19 points in a blitzkrieg of a second quarter as the Knicks outscored the T-Wolves 41-18 to take a 73-47 lead at halftime.
“First quarter, I was just being tremendously patient and getting the flow going in our offense, moving the ball, passing.” Towns said. “Getting people to understand the spots that we could succeed the rest of the night. I just wanted to add a flow to our offense, make sure our team was doing what it needed to do to come out with the win and we did that tonight.”
Midway through the second quarter, Towns capped off a 26-2 run with a driving lay up and was fouled. After the free throw, the Knicks led 58-35.
Towns hit a three with four and half minutes left to make it 64-41 lead. Two free throws gave Towns 22 points and put the Knicks up 69-41.
Precious Achiuwa, who got the start as Josh Hart missed the game for personal reasons, hit a lay up to make it a 28 point lead. Minnesota scored the final six points of the quarter but still trailed by 26 at halftime.
Early in the third, the T-Wolves tried to make a move to cut into the big lead.
Rudy Goebert’s dunk made it 77-57 but Towns and Bridges hit consecutive buckets to put the Knicks up 81-57.
With less than a minute left in the third quarter, Towns took a pass from Deuce McBride (16 points with 8 assists off the bench) and drove the lane to beat three Minnesota defenders and score on a lay up as the Knicks took their biggest lead of the game, 104-68.
Early in the fourth quarter, Towns’ lay up gave him his final points of the game as the Knicks took a 111-77 lead. Moments later, Thibodeau sent Towns to the bench to enjoy a memorable evening that he will never forget.
Towns recorded his 16th consecutive double-double and became the first Knick since Bob McAdoo in 1978 to have back to back games of 20 points and 20 rebounds.