Thursday night was guaranteed to be an emotional one from the start. When the Minnesota Timberwolves traded Karl-Anthony Towns in the last week of September, it officially ushered in a new era for the franchise. After nine years with KAT at the helm of this organization, the Wolves would bid a sorrowful farewell and move forward in their pursuit of a championship.
They and everyone else knew that Towns' first game back at Target Center (and his first one as a visitor) would be a momentous occasion. And indeed it was. From KAT's shootaround media availability where he raved about his continued love for Minnesota and for his former teammates, to his spectacular pregame tribute video, it was a night to remember for Towns as well as the entire Wolves fanbase. No one in attendance is likely to forget this evening anytime soon.
The reasons why this was such an unforgettable night were mostly because of feel-good moments for Timberwolves fans, that is up until the game tipped off. Minnesota hung tough with a talented New York squad up until the start of the second quarter. That was when the Wolves' defense faltered, and the Knicks' high-powered offense shined.
Karl-Anthony Towns' unique impact is irreplaceable
Spearheading New York's 41-point second quarter and overall 133-point night? None other than Karl-Anthony Towns himself. The big man made Wolves fans smile pregame, then proceeded to remind them all of just what their team lost for the next 48 minutes. KAT finished with a game-high 32 points to match his jersey number, along with 20 rebounds and six assists. He did it all while going 10-for-12 from the floor and 5-for-5 from three-point range. It was simply a dominating performance.
What KAT did with this performance was remind everyone that his impact is simply irreplaceable. Being able to possess that much size and have that great of marksmanship from all over the floor is incredibly rare. There is a reason why Towns has long been heralded as one of the greatest-shooting big men of all-time, and it is not surprising that Minnesota has had some struggles since losing a player of his caliber.
The potential is still there for Julius Randle to be a big ceiling-raiser for this Timberwolves team, but the fact is that he is simply not quite the type of game-changer KAT is. "We should have closed him out about half a dozen times," said Chris Finch postgame. "I mean, we should know that. That's just a personnel thing, it wasn't a scheme thing."
It should be obvious to everyone by now that the Knicks have an incredibly special player on their hands, and the Timberwolves faithful does not need a reminder to know that truth. But that does not mean KAT was going to hold back from giving one to them anyway.