Karl-Anthony Towns had a smile plastered on his face as he emerged from the away team tunnel Thursday night at Target Center. After donning a Minnesota Timberwolves jersey for nearly a decade, Towns took the floor roughly an hour and 15 minutes before tip-off sporting the New York Knicks blue and orange.
Everything about it was foreign, but the reception from the smattering of Timberwolves fans already in attendance wasn’t. They roared as he stepped onto the court and continued to scream as he briefly stepped back to take it all in.
All eyes were on Towns, who was playing his first game in Minneapolis after the Wolves dealt him to New York in a blindsiding blockbuster trade on September 27.
On the other side of the court, Julius Randle was quietly getting in his reps. Wolves and Knicks fans were locked on to Towns’ every move, including greeting Spike Lee, embracing his father, and speaking with Anthony Edwards at halfcourt. Meanwhile, Randle was getting in his regular pregame workout with a blank look. Not only did he have something to prove after being the big return in the KAT trade, but Randle was also the key to unlocking a perfect night for Wolves fans.
Randle gave no insight into how he approached Thursday’s matchup, deflecting all questions in the days leading up to the game. However, he let his play do the talking out of the gates – recording ten points in less than three minutes. Every time Randle touched the ball, he made a move to score or set up a teammate to score. There was a noticeable chip on his shoulder, which should have been the driving force in spoiling KAT’s homecoming.
Instead, the night quickly turned into a nightmare.
“It will for sure be emotional for KAT,” Mike Conley told reporters on Tuesday.
“We all miss him, and he obviously treats this as home. Fans will be piling in to see him. He will have to do a lot of talking and seeing familiar faces who bring back a bunch of memories. It’s always stuff – you try to keep it at basketball as much as you can, but at some point during the game, there will be an emotional attachment to it that is hard to explain.”
Emotions were running high before the ball was tipped on Thursday. The crowd had just absorbed Towns’ tribute video, highlighting his most memorable times in Minnesota. The stage was set for what should have been a highly competitive game between a team with the NBA’s best defensive rating since Thanksgiving and a team with the second-best offensive rating.
Randle instigated a promising start for the Wolves. He was responsible for 22 of Minnesota’s 33 points in the first quarter (15 as the scorer, seven as the passer) on 5 of 8 from the floor and 3 of 4 from deep. The Wolves only held a one-point lead heading into the second quarter. New York responded to Randle’s early blows by shooting 12 of 22 (54.5%) from the floor and 6 of 9 (66.7%) from deep. However, Minnesota was sending doubles at KAT every time he touched the ball in the post and didn’t allow him to settle into a groove in the first quarter.
It looked like a box office matchup. Minnesota largely kept Towns in check while Randle looked like an indomitable force. The Wolves were also playing hard, and the offense was finally clicking after having the NBA’s fourth-worst offense over the last three weeks.
However, everything immediately changed in the second quarter.
“They kicked our ass in every department,” Chris Finch said postgame regarding the Knicks outscoring Minnesota Wolves by 23 points in the second quarter. “Whether on defense, in transition, or on the glass. We struggled to score but let our defense go – letting go of the rope in the second quarter.”
The Wolves entered Thursday night having won six of their previous seven games. However, their newly energized self didn’t last long. New York shot 14 of 27 (51.9%) from the floor and 6 of 14 (42.9%) from deep en route to a 44-point second quarter.
Minnesota only scored 18 points and shot 7 of 22 (31.8%) from the floor in the second quarter. They made all the fatal little mistakes that matter against a team like the Knicks. The Timberwolves committed five turnovers, which resulted in eight New York points. They also allowed six offensive rebounds, resulting in eight points for the Knicks.
New York outscored the Wolves 16-2 in the first 3:18 minutes of the frame. Minnesota’s defense and offense checked out simultaneously, which is becoming one of the team’s fatal flaws this season. When the Wolves struggled to get stops, they looked to get it all back via isolation possessions on the other end.
“We don’t have s— on offense. We have no identity,” said Anthony Edwards postgame. “We know I am going to shoot a bunch of shots. We know Julius is going to shoot a bunch of shots. That’s all we know. We really don’t know anything else.”
They looked like a disconnected version of the team that has been tied for the best record in the NBA since Thanksgiving. Meanwhile, Minnesota’s old friend sent a message.
“It’s just like any other game – that win is really important,” Towns told the media postgame. “It’s something we are very appreciative to get. Personally, though, this game wasn’t just another game. If anyone told you otherwise, that is a lie.”
Towns finished his homecoming with 32 points, 20 rebounds, and six assists on a blistering 10 of 12 from the floor, 5 of 5 from deep, and 7 of 9 from the free throw line in 38 minutes. After the Wolves doubled KAT in the first quarter and effectively got the ball out of his hands, Tom Thibodeau and the Knicks adjusted their scheme from the second quarter on.
KAT himself outscored the Wolves in the second quarter, where nineteen of his 32 points came as the Knicks prioritized getting him looks from deep. Towns was sticking it to his former team in every possible way. He was clogging up the paint on defense and dominating the glass while shooting 5 of 6 from the floor and 3 of 3 from deep.
Everything about his quick takeover stung for Wolves fans. They watched their team check out on both ends while KAT drilled all of his second-quarter threes in Rudy Gobert’s face and hit the same animated celebrations that fans grew to love during Towns’ time in Minnesota.
Meanwhile, Randle disappeared after setting the tone in the first quarter. He scored nine points on 3 of 9 shooting over his final 19 minutes. Like the rest of his teammates, Randle looked dejected on both ends. The Wolves cleared their bench with 10:34 left in the fourth quarter and sputtered to a 133-107 gut-punch of a loss.
The Wolves didn’t fight until there was 10:34 left in the fourth. They didn’t put together any sort of comeback push. The game was over midway through the third quarter when Towns drilled his fifth and final three of the night a foot behind the line right in front of Minnesota’s bench. He kept his shooting arm extended and glanced at his former team, who succumbed to defeat.
“I told him when we were down 30 that I can’t show my happiness for you, but hell yeah, I was super happy for [KAT],” Edwards told reporters postgame. “That’s everything you dream of – you get traded, come back, and beat your team by 30. It’s everything you dream of. I can’t be mad; I am happy for him. I am bad that we lost, but on the inside, I am super happy for him. That’s my dog.”
Towns didn’t leave the court until seven minutes after the game went final. He did a postgame interview and talked with even more fans before disappearing into the tunnel with one final send-off from the crowd. It was hard for fans not to be happy for KAT on Thursday, but they desperately needed to see a different outcome.
Many fans have quickly grown weary of Randle after the honeymoon phase has worn off. In a perfect world, Randle would have gone for 30+ points, KAT would have played well, but the Wolves still would have come out on top.
However, Minnesota put together its worst game of the season, making fans second-guess everything. Whether the Wolves think so or not, their emotional nightmare on Thursday made the trade look bad. They needed to give their fanbase a reason to believe their current team is better without Towns on the roster.
Instead, the Wolves made fans miss KAT more than ever.
