MINNEAPOLIS — Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau has stressed since training camp the need for the Knicks to shoot more three-point field goals. And maybe, since they had never reached the lofty goals he had for how many in the first nine games of the season, they needed to see what it looked like.
They got a clear view Saturday as the Boston Celtics set a franchise record for made threes in a game and the Knicks set a mark for the most surrendered in a game as Boston connected on 27 of 51 from beyond the arc. With that fresh in their mind the Knicks took the floor at the Target Center Monday and came out firing.
The Knicks set season highs for attempts and makes from beyond the arc, draining 19 of 48 as they built a huge lead and never let the Timberwolves back in the game as they evened their record at 5-5 with a 120-107 win.
Julius Randle set the tone, scoring 15 points on five threes in the first quarter, and he finished with a season-high 31 points. Jalen Brunson had 23 points and eight assists and RJ Barrett added 22 points. Randle finished 8-for-13 from three, tying his personal best for makes that he set last season in Sacramento.
The Knicks built leads of as many as 27 points in the first half and they never let Minnesota back in the game. Once the Knicks got started the Timberwolves never got it back to single digits again, drawing as close as 13 at 105-92 early in the fourth quarter before the Knicks stretched the advantage again
Thibodeau has stressed the need to shoot more threes this season, following the path set by most of the best teams in the NBA. While he would not put an exact number on it publicly he did hint earlier this season that he wanted about 50 attempts. The Knicks hadn’t come close to that this season, never attempting more than 38 in the first nine games.
The lesson in that Celtics game was a simple one.
“They hit some tough ones but at the end of the day — we shot 27, they made 27,” Isaiah Hartenstein said. “it’s hard to win. If felt like were still scoring, but we were scoring two, they were scoring three.”
Just as the Celtics had bombed away Saturday against the Knicks, it started right from the beginning for the Knicks this time. The Knicks converted 10 of 19 three-pointers in the quarter, setting a franchise record for most three pointers in a first quarter. The Timberwolves were without Rudy Gobert, but that hardly explained the defensive lapses — just as the Knicks couldn’t explain away their defense Saturday by the absence of Mitchell Robinson.
“Yes, I think that’s important,” Thibodeau said before the game. “We’re doing a good job of attacking the rim. We’re scoring in the paint very effectively. We’ve got to make our rim reads and we’ve got to shoot it well. We’ve got to think about how we can create more.”
The Knicks were still short of their franchise record for made threes — 24 set on Oct. 22, 2021 against the Orlando Magic. Minnesota shot 11-for-41 from three and were led by Karl-Anthony Towns with 25 points and 13 rebounds.
