Timberwolves Wrap: Karl-Anthony Towns dominates the Knicks

Karl-Anthony Towns nearly put up a triple-double as the Timberwolves won their fourth game in a row, defeating Kristaps Porzingis and the New York Knicks at Target Center.

After eight straight games of holding their opponent under 100 points, Timberwolves had a rough game on the defensive end of the floor. But on this night, it didn’t matter.

Karl-Anthony Towns dominated, scoring 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting while grabbing 15 rebounds and dishing out nine assists. He played a team-high 40 minutes, while nobody else played more than 34.

Kristaps Porzingis wasn’t bad, although it took him 19 shots to get his 17 points. Outside of draining three 3-pointers in five tries, the Unicorn wasn’t much of a match for the Wolves in this one.

The Knicks jumped out to a modest early lead, causing the Wolves to play catch-up for much of the first half. Minnesota trailed by two at halftime. Then, in the third quarter, they outplayed the Knicks for the first few minutes, building a modest lead of their own.

By the end of the frame, however, the Knicks had gotten back to within just one point of the home team due to some timely shooting from Tim Hardaway, Jr. The Wolves’ perimeter defense was just a step slow in this one, and the Knicks made them pay, which allowed them to hang around until the very end of the game.

The fourth quarter saw the Wolves crack down on defense; the Knicks didn’t score a field goal until more than four minutes had ticked off the clock. The home team built a lead as large as 19 points, culminating in a Jamal Crawford 3-pointer that would have been a 4-point play but for a rare missed free throw from the three-time Sixth Man of the Year. But the Knicks went on a 14-4 run, drawing within nine points just under the two minutes mark.

But the Wolves’ defense buckled down once again, and a couple of careless turnovers from the Knicks allowed Minnesota to build their lead back up to double-digits and walk away with a victory.

Tweets of the Night

Key Takeaways

• Jeff Teague was rusty once again (3-11 FG, 1-6 3P), but overall played a solid game with four steals and eight assists. He did miss an open 3-pointer on the last possession of the game that would have given Towns his second career triple-double, however, so the team’s chemistry will probably tank because of Teague’s selfishness.
• Towns was awesome. After a decent first half, KAT opened the third quarter with a quick seven points. He wasn’t matched up with Porzingis one-on-one very often, but he was able to largely dominate Enes Kanter and Kyle O’Quinn.
• The Wolves launched 27 3-pointers but only made 10 of them. Teague (1-for-6), Wiggins (1-for-4), and Butler (1-for-3) were the culprits in dragging down the team’s overall percentage, while Nemanja Bjelica (2-for-2) and Towns (2-for-4) hurt the Knicks in some key second half spots.
• The second unit was awesome — especially on defense. Tyus Jones was a +13 for the game and was all over the place in double-teaming Knicks players and pouncing on loose balls.
• Eight of the nine Timberwolves players that appeared in the game scored 10 or more points. Tyus Jones was the low-man with seven points on the night.

Player of the Game

Karl-Anthony Towns: 23 points (9-15 FG, 2-4 3P, 3-4 FT), 15 rebounds, 9 assists, one block, 3 turnovers

Towns continued his stretch of All-Star-level play, dominating the third quarter and playing well down the stretch in a game that was close for about 40 of the 48 minutes. KAT was good on the boards and solid on defense while showing his full arsenal on offense.

Notable Box Score Lines

• Jimmy Butler: 13 points (6-12 FG, 1-3 3P, 0-1 FT), 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists, one block, 2 turnovers
• Andrew Wiggins: 16 points (7-20 FG, 1-4 3P, 1-3 FT), 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, one block, 2 turnovers
• Taj Gibson: 17 points (8-11 FG, 1-1 FT), 6 rebounds, 2 assists, one block, one turnover
• Jeff Teague: 12 points (3-11 FG, 1-6 3P, 5-6 FT), 8 assist, 4 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 turnovers
• Nemanja Bjelica: 10 points (4-4 FG, 2-2 3P)
• Gorgui Dieng: 10 points (5-8 FG, 0-1 3P), 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, one turnover
• Jamal Crawford: 10 points (4-9 FG, 2-5 3P, 0-1 FT), 4 assists, one rebound

Next: How the TImberwolves have improved their defense

What’s Next?

The Timberwolves will look to complete a perfect sweep on their five-game homestand against the Portland Trail Blazers. The game will now be nationally-televised on ESPN, so tip-off is at 8 p.m. CT.