NEW YORK — If the Timberwolves are going to make a move up the Western Conference standings, now is as good a time as they may have the rest of the season. Their schedule may get tough the rest of the month, but they are the healthiest they have been since the beginning of the season.
Coach Chris Finch wanted them to start stacking high-quality performances after Sunday's win against Golden State, and Tuesday they pulled out a 112-110 win against the Knicks.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 11 of his 20 points in the first quarter while Anthony Edwards had 21 points and D'Angelo Russell finished with 17. Julius Randle had 21 points for New York while Evan Fournier had 27 and Kemba Walker caught fire in the fourth for 19.
With New York big men Mitchell Robinson and Taj Gibson fouled out, Towns attacked Randle for a three-point play that gave the Wolves a 111-109 lead with 29.3 seconds to play. They led 112-110 with 19.2 to play before New York missed a chance to tie from Fournier, who missed a jumper short and a potential winning 3 from Alec Burks clanged off the rim
Towns made a point of attacking early and he found success in the first quarter both inside and outside. He was able to maneuver around Robinson for a couple easy early buckets and hit a pair of 3s for 11 first-quarter points. The Wolves held a small lead throughout the first after forcing the Knicks into eight turnovers, though the Knicks contributed to that with some sloppy ball movement. The Wolves only converted those eight turnovers into seven points.
New York also hit just 1 of 8 from 3 -point range.
Edwards also had a strong first quarter with eight points and scored more going downhill than he did outside. Edwards hit a number of shots around the rim, including a few with his left hand as he scored eight in the first quarter, 16 in the first half.
The Wolves couldn't break open the game despite the Knicks' offensive struggles. It didn't help that Russell picked up his third foul late in the first quarter and sat the entire second. As a result, Edwards played 20 of the 24 minutes in the first half.
But they bridged the time Russell was out just fine as Naz Reid had nine off the bench in the first half. Malik Beasley also continued his strong shooting from Sunday with 10 in the first half. The Wolves took their first double-digit lead of the night a little more than halfway through the second quarter at 44-34. They would push it to as much as 12 before settling on a 61-51 lead at halftime.
New York came out with more purpose in the third quarter and cleaned up its miscues. The Knicks opened with the first six points of the quarter and didn't relent in attacking the Wolves at the rim with Randle. They stayed within a possession or two until Evan Fournier buried a corner three to give them a 79-78 lead, their first lead since 13-11.
The Knicks wore down the Wolves as the quarter went on with their physicality. Fournier his a couple 3s and the Wolves committed a few turnovers and all of a sudden the Knicks were up 91-82 on a 12-2 run. Fournier had 13 in the quarter, including three 3s, while Randle had 10, six of which came at the foul line. The Wolves trailed 91-86 entering the fourth after losing the third quarter 40-25.
The Wolves opened the fourth with a 7-0 run before Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau subbed in his starters, who went on a 7-0 run to re-take the lead.
Walker took the hot shooting torch from Fournier as he buried three triples to stymie the Wolves' attempts to take the lead. New York led 107-102 while Nowell kept the Wolves in it with 11 in the fourth. The Wolves clawed back within one multiple times.
