THAT WAS A STATEMENT.
Karl-Anthony Towns returned home to the Twin Cities and left no doubt who won the trade that sent him to New York in a 133-107 victory over the Timberwolves.
KAT became the first player in NBA history to drop at least 30 points, 20 rebounds, and five made threes without a miss from distance.
He was utterly unstoppable during an extended 27-2 run midway through the first half that allowed the Knicks to put this one on ice early. He scored 19 points in a little over eight minutes, the bulk of them while guarded by four-time DPOY Rudy “The Superspreader” Gobert.
His dominance wasn’t limited to scoring, as he also dished out 6 assists, adjusting after Minnesota’s hard doubles caused four turnovers in the first quarter, not having another the rest of the game.
His defense was also solid throughout with two steals in the 2nd quarter and shutting down Julius Randle on a couple of drives.
It was a night where KAT nailed the big stuff and the little stuff and it fueled the Knicks best performance of the season.
Mikal Bridges Steps Up
While Towns stole the show, Mikal Bridges also had his best game of the season. Bridges contributed 29 points on 12-of-18 shooting, including 4-of-8 from three-point range. He added six rebounds and most importantly six assists in what was for my money clearly his best passing game of the season.
One word defined Mikal’s night: Activity.
Push it up the floor throw it to Precious Achiuwa, keep running, get it back, drive baseline, sling it out to Jalen for three. Relocation three off a Jalen drive. Hit Sims on a live dribble lob. Just barely catch an OG Anunoby outlet tiptoe the sideline and then hit The Big Sneeze on a 50-foot laser for a lay. Spend your night running Anthony Edwards off the three-point line.
This was everything that’s been missing in Bridges’ game for the bulk of this year. We’ve been hard on him because we knew this was in there.
It’s why we’re hard on the Knicks in general because we know this performance is in there.
They’ve been a top-five defense over the past 10 games (against an admittedly weak slate of opposing offenses) and last night was the apex of that run keyed by Tom Thibodeau’s early recognition that Julius Randle was going to keep torching Achiuwa and the adjustment to put OG Anunoby on him.
Anunoby continues to struggle with his shot (just 24% from three over his last 10 games), but in a battle of two of the strongest players in the NBA he consistently got the better of his short-lived former teammate.
He consistently walled Randle off with his chest and keying transition with his quick hands. All while finding time to stunt at Anthony Edwards while Bridges made his life hell.
No Josh Hart, a bad Brunson night and the Knicks showed you just how good they can be anyways. Let’s keep it going.
For more insights and a deeper dive into the Knicks’ dominant performance, tune into the Locked On Knicks podcast for this and much more.
Other Topics in Today’s Locked On Knicks Podcast:
• Julius Randle’s performance against his former team
