Player grades from Timberwolves’ slow shooting night against Knicks

The Minnesota Timberwolves couldn’t quite muster the same short-handed on Tuesday as they had on Monday night as they lost to the New York Knicks.

Player grades from Timberwolves’ slow shooting night against Knicks

The New York Knicks took down the Timberwolves 96-88 on Tuesday night at the Target Center.

Once again, several starters were out due to COVID-19, including Anthony Edwards, D’Angelo Russell, and Karl-Anthony Towns. Both teams struggled shooting from the field, to say the least, with the Wolves shooting a season-worst 18.4 percent from 3-point range.

Minnesota had scored 100+ points in 20 straight games (the longest active streak in the NBA) before failing to do so against New York.

Let’s take a look at three player grades from the narrow home loss.

Jaden McDaniels: B+

18 points (7-11 FG, 1-5 3P, 3-3 FT), 6 rebounds, 5 blocks, one steal, one turnover

McDaniels was extremely active around the rim on both ends of the floor, racking up 18 points, six rebounds and five blocks, making all six shot attempts from inside the arc. Like a lot of players on a Tuesday night, he couldn’t buy a bucket from outside but still had a major impact as the Timberwolves tried to pull off a comeback win.

Despite shooting 1-for-5 from 3-point range, McDaniels played at a high level for a third game in a row. The 6-foot-9 forward continuously forced Julius Randle into tough decisions (as noted by teammate Jarred Vanderbilt) as the Knicks star shot just 5-for-20 from the field.

Malik Beasley: B

20 points (8-for-23 FG, 4-for-16 3P), 4 rebounds, one assist, one steal

With the Timberwolves again without their top three scorers, Beasley had an even brighter green light than normal. Beasley couldn’t get it going from the perimeter in the first quarter and a half but he started to find a rhythm in the second quarter and beyond.

Beasley made back-to-back shots to cut New York’s lead to 44-39 just before the break. In the fourth quarter, he had a chance to bring the Timberwolves within a point but missed an open three. RJ Barrett’s triple on the other end put the Knicks up 88-81 with four minutes to go. Ultimately, Beasley finished with a game-high 20 points in the loss.

Nathan Knight: C+

8 points (3-8 FG, 0-1 3P, 2-3 FT), 7 rebounds, 2 assists, one block, 6 personal fouls

Knight was extremely active to start the night, scoring six points in the first five minutes, and showing a lot of potential as a backup big man. He also helped spark a run early on after the Knicks started the second quarter on a 10-0 run. Knight played well in the first half but the Timberwolves trailed 44-41 at halftime.

He wasn’t able to have as much of an impact in the second half, however, as the Knicks frontcourt picked it up on both ends of the floor. Mitchell Robinson and Randle combined for 27 points and 33 rebounds, which was just too much for the Timberwolves frontcourt of Knight, Naz Reid, and a recently-signed Greg Monroe.

Minnesota was 5-1 in the last six games against New York before losing on Tuesday night, falling to 9th place in the Western Conference with a 16-18 record. The Timberwolves have lost three out of four games since a four-game win streak was snapped against the Mavericks.

According to Jon Krawczynski and Shams Charania, Edwards has cleared protocols but will have a ramp-up period before returning. Minnesota travels to the Jazz, Lakers, and Clippers this week.