It was quite a contrast watching one of the best offensive players in Timberwolves’ history pour in a remarkably efficient 32 points to go with 20 rebounds as the Knicks drubbed Minnesota 133-107 on national television on Thursday in Karl-Anthony Towns’ much-anticipated return to Target Center, while his former team bottomed out offensively.
Minnesota’s offense was elite when Towns played the center spot early in Chris Finch’s tenure, but it backtracked to middle tier once Minnesota traded for Rudy Gobert, which sent the defense soaring up to the league’s best.
But even a sometimes-middling offense a year ago far exceeded what the Wolves are producing on that end of the floor this season.
It’s been more than a month since the Wolves scored 110 points in regulation. They appeared to be a shoo-in to break that drought after pouring in 33 points in the first quarter on Thursday. And then the wheels fell off and the bus came screeching to an ugly halt.
Minnesota scored two points over the first six minutes of the second frame, with the Knicks outscoring the Wolves 26-2 in that span. That was ballgame.
Minnesota (14-12) never recovered to capture any type of fluidity on that end. There was a period in the second quarter in which the Wolves tallied three consecutive zero-pass possessions from three separate players — Anthony Edwards, Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo — which resulted in zero points.
Ball stopping, indecision and a general lack of awareness continue to limit anything Minnesota can do on that end.
Still, the Wolves entered Thursday’s bout as winners of six of their past seven games thanks to a rediscovered defensive dominance that carried them to last year’s West finals. In each of those wins, Minnesota held opponents to 92 points or fewer, unheard of in today’s NBA.
But none of those defensive performances in this recent run came against truly elite offenses. New York presented that. And Minnesota couldn’t answer the bell.
The Wolves had no matchup for Towns, who went 10 for 12 from the field and a perfect 5 for 5 from deep. But they also allowed Mikal Bridges to go off for 29 points. The Knicks (17-10) got whatever they wanted.
As Finch noted in last year’s West finals, sometimes you have to be able to score alongside your opponent. Minnesota isn’t remotely capable of doing that at the moment.
Meanwhile, Towns is a focal point of the best offense in the NBA. He was showered with praise at numerous points Thursday, cheered heavily when the Knicks even took the court for pre-game warmups. He received two tribute videos — one highlighting his play during pre-game intros, and another during the first quarter that centered on his community work.
All of the deserved praise was greeted by loud ovations from the appreciative Wolves faithful who, on the flip side, booed their squad’s performance.
Related Articles
He returned to Minnesota as a visitor, but Karl-Anthony Towns will always view this as a home
Karl-Anthony Towns’ lasting legacy in Minnesota: The unselfish star who wanted everyone to be happy
Mike Conley, Rudy Gobert know what former Timberwolves teammate Karl-Anthony Towns can expect in ’emotional’ return Thursday
Timberwolves continue suffocating opponents en route to sixth win in seven games
Jaden McDaniels leads the way for Minnesota in defense-led win over Lakers
Leave a Reply