Fans will finally return to the Garden in limited numbers starting Tuesday, two nights after the Knicks barely took an emotional victory in their last game in front of an empty arena.
Tom Thibodeau’s team washed away a 21-point lead in the second half, but it ultimately gave him the gift of a win in his first game against the Timberwolves since he was sacked by Minnesota in 2019, taking a 103-99 on Sunday. victory took to a homestand for four games.
In his last game before All-Star reserves are named Tuesday, Julius Randle finished with 25 points and 14 rebounds as the Knicks improved to 15-16 playing against Golden State that night.
RJ Barrett added 21 and Alec Burks (13) threw four important free throws in the last 21 seconds for the Knicks, who had three days off between games due to Saturday’s postponement against San Antonio after multiple Spurs tested positive for COVID -19.
Karl-Anthony Towns scored 27 points, Ricky Rubio 18 and rookie Anthony Edwards finished 12 for the Timberwolves (7-24).
The Knicks led 86-65 late in the third quarter, but Minnesota opened the fourth with a run of 20-6 to close in two on a 3-pointer from Towns with barely five minutes to go.
An inner bucket from Towns put the Timberwolves ahead with 2:48 to go, but Randle sank two free throws and Burks added four more from the line in the closing seconds.
Jersey-born Towns played his seventh game after missing four weeks following a positive COVID test in January. His mother, Jacqueline, and six other family members died of the virus last year.
‘He is a great player. He’s been through a lot of setbacks, and it’s clear you care about him as a person first and about his family – his father, sister, ‘said Thibodeau before the game. “In terms of basketball, if he’s healthy, he’s one of the best players in the league. So it’s been a bit of a shame about his injuries over the years, but he’s a great talent. “
The T-Wolves did not have a former Nets All-Star D’Angelo Russell (knee), but this was the Knicks’ first look at Edwards, the # 1 overall pick in the 2020 draft from Georgia.
Quickley, Kentucky’s 25th pick, said before the game that he and Edwards were teammates in a top-class camp when they were still in high school. They also faced each other several times in the SEC last year.
Edwards came in second among the rookies on Sunday with a score of 14.3 points per game, just behind Charlotte point guard LaMelo Ball (14.4), with Quickley in third with 12.4 ppg.
Quickley, who plays in a reserve role for only 19.4 minutes per game, led the freshmen in the Player Efficiency Rating (PER), a measure that measures a player’s productivity per minute.
Towns and Rubio scored all of Minnesota’s points in an early 15-15 draw, but the Knicks ended the first quarter with a 15-3 rise – with five points by Burks, four by Quickley and a transition dunk by Barrett – for a 12 – point cushion.
Minnesota played within four halfway through the second, but eight points from Randle late in the quarter – including a direct 3-pointer just before the horn – helped keep the Knicks a 61-50 lead at the break. All five starters hit double digits in points before the end of the third as the Knicks led the way with a whopping 21 and built an 87-71 lead at the start of the last quarter.