The New York Knicks followed up an uninspiring performance last Wednesday with yet another in Sunday night’s victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. 

Well, I’m glad this one’s over. Let it be history from this point forward. 

After pulling out to a 21-point lead, the New York Knicks nearly gave up this game to a Minnesota Timberwolves team that’s won just seven games this season. 

But, a win is a win. And I say that as someone who is a firm non-believer in moral victories. 

New York came out running in the first quarter of this one, which was a welcome sight, to say the least. Their last game was a poor performance in their loss to the Orlando Magic, and their Saturday matinee slate against the San Antonio Spurs was postponed due to COVID-19. 

The Knicks tallied a 30-18 point lead after the first 12 minutes of this one, largely by way of some atrocious shooting on the Timberwolves’ end. They held Minnesota to 37% shooting from the floor, but a rather efficient 4-11 makes from deep in the first period. 

All five of New York’s starting group were on the board after one, with Elfrid Payton leading the way behind a five-point, three-assist performance in the quarter. 

For Minnesota, it was Ricky Rubio and Karl-Anthony Towns’s two-man game that kept them in it. They accounted for 15 of the team’s 18 first-quarter points. 

This trend, among others, continued on into the second quarter, which was without too many eye-popping highlights, outside of this assist from Obi Toppin to Taj Gibson: 

I’d be remiss without mentioning that he followed that play up with a tip-in basket off of a miss from Payton that nearly went all the way around the rim before dropping.

The Knicks walked their way to a 61-50 lead at the break, with few concerns. Among those small concerns, rookie guard Immanuel Quickley uncharacteristically tallied three fouls. That would play its part later, down the stretch, where New York’s relied on the rookie heavily this year. 

Because, man, did they need some Quickley floaters tonight. Any kind of bucket, really. 

Minnesota outscored the Knicks in the second quarter 32 points to 31, providing a momentum that no doubt served as fuel to their fourth quarter performance. Clearly motivated, the Timberwolves came out of the half determined to keep things close with New York. 

But thanks to the continuing wonders of Julius Randle’s All-Star play, and a short-lived scoring outburst from RJ Barrett, the Knicks outscored them 26-21 in the third quarter, and gave themselves a lead of 87-to-71 entering the fourth and final period.

New York and their fans were riding high, but as has proved the case for the large part of his career in Minnesota, Towns refused to go down without a fight in this one. The big man led a comeback effort that, despite falling short, pushed the Knicks to the brink in the final seconds.

The Timberwolves spent the first half of the fourth quarter on a 17-4 run that was almost poetically and unironically broken up by a Randle and-1, where he missed the free throw. 

Towns was everywhere, and ultimately gave Minnesota the lead with three minutes to go. 

It was the Timberwolves’ first lead since the first quarter, but as that fact suggests, it didn’t last. 

Minnesota and New York swapped the lead a few times in the final minutes of this one, but some astute defense and free throw diligence sealed the win for the Knicks, 103-99.

Notes

• The Timberwolves fall to 7-24 after this one, the NBA’s worst record, and they are down bad. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported shortly after the game that they dismissed head coach Ryan Saunders. You never feel good about a likable guy losing his job, but it’s nice to think that a New York Knicks win caused some front office pandemonium (or helped them along to an imminent conclusion).

• Head coach Tom Thibodeau called Julius Randle the team’s “engine” after Sunday night’s win, and he couldn’t be more right. New York’s All-Star (well, TBD) finished the game with 25 points, 14 rebounds, and four assists in 39 minutes. Randle’s averaging 37 minutes per game this year, and the Knicks would be a lot worse without him.

• It was nice to see Alec Burks on the floor and contributing largely in this one. The veteran guard finished with just 13 points and six rebounds, but even that is a drastic improvement off of his recent slump. Burks scored just 15 points total over New York’s last four games. It wasn’t an incredibly efficient performance, but hopefully the time on the floor will help contribute to an imminent comeback.

• Outside of the aforementioned veteran, the Knicks’ bench failed to show up for the second straight game, particularly in the backcourt. Derrick Rose and Quickley combined for just nine points on 2-13 shooting from the field on Sunday. As New York continues on as one of the league’s worst offensive teams, they’ll need to see an uptick in bench scoring if they’re to overcome their scoring woes.

• The New York Knicks have their 15th win of the season. They didn’t hit that mark last season until game 51: a February bout with the Cleveland Cavaliers that went to overtime. For those of you that took the over on the team’s projected win total (22.5), I’d go ahead and put your two weeks in. It’s looking like as safe a bet as any.

• Karl-Anthony Towns’s performance on Sunday is yet another reminder as to what Mitchell Robinson provides when he’s available and on the floor. But the outcome for the Knicks should instill faith that the team can stay afloat until he makes his return. Towns finished Sunday with 27 points, 15 rebounds, four assists, and three blocks.

• In addition to the Timberwolves’ firing their head coach, it was nice to see New York rally late and get the win for new head coach Tom Thibodeau. As you are no doubt aware, Minnesota was his last stop before making his way to the Knicks after a season and a half off from coaching.

• New York held their opponent to under 100 points once again. We’re still calling that a win nowadays, yeah? The Knicks are 8-1 when they’ve done that this year.

• I feel like I’ve gone from “tenant on Julius Randle island” to “Julius Randle is on an island, get this man some help!” There are too many times where he’s the only guy who can produce a bucket. When it’s happening in games against a Swiss cheese defense like the Timberwolves, you’d be hard pressed to find a viable excuse outside of overall talent. The trade deadline soon cometh, am I right?

• As Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic mentioned after the game, the Timberwolves quite literally just fired their head coach after losing to the team that’s coached by the last head coach they fired. Try saying that five times fast.

The New York Knicks were up by as many as 21 points in this one, and walked out as just four-point victors. After their loss to the Orlando Magic last week, it wasn’t the most inspiring of performances from the kids in the orange and blue, especially following some extended time off. 

This one was too close for comfort, to say the least. As Clyde Frazier so accurately predicted early on in the first half, Sunday’s game did in fact go to the team that reached 100 points first. 

Regardless, the chase for a .500 record continues on. New York is now 15-16, the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference, and just one game back of home court advantage in the playoffs. Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors come to town on Wednesday.