Wolves resist Karl-Anthony Towns’ 40 points

With neither team holding a lead on New Year’s Eve and Christmas Day, it was a pretty interesting matchup for Minnesota. The Knicks were without Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby and it showed Karl-Anthony Towns takes up all the space offensively, with 14 points in the first quarter. Anthony Edwards is aggressive towards the circle and the beginning of the match is the exchange of baskets (31-28).

Then things get complicated for the Knicks as Bones Hyland hits a couple of 3-pointers. New York’s offense suffered and we had to wait for “KAT” and Josh Hart to breathe life to see the answer, firm and authoritarian, 16-2. But Minnesota is still ahead at the break (58-52).

This was confirmed early in the third quarter, before the Knicks took a 15-1 lead. Anthony Edwards, 16 points in this quarter, finds solutions to calm the opponent (85-79).

He was perfectly supported by Julius Randle, who poured in baskets and scored 17 units in the final act. Here again, Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart refused to give up and put forth their efforts until the end, but it was not enough and the Wolves won 115-104.

WHAT TO REMEMBER

– The duo Anthony Edwards – Julius Randle shone. Rudy Gober was also good with 11 points and 16 rebounds, but the two Wolves leaders made the difference in the second half, scoring 39 points between them. In total, the back end will finish with 38 points on 15/27 shooting as the interior collects 25 points on 10/20 shooting. Deprived of OG Anunoby, the Knicks didn’t have the weapons to bother The Ant.

– Karl-Anthony Towns too isolated. The Knicks star wasn’t completely alone there either, as Josh Hart and Tyler Kolek had great games, but it was he who took control of the offense, with 40 points. Let’s try to forget about Jalen Branson, but certain sequences where Mike Brown’s offense suffered a lot showed that the playmaker was necessary.

– Third win in a row for Minnesota. After beating the Thunder, the Wolves beat the Knicks for their third straight win. Chris Finch’s men are in fine form in these final days of the calendar year.

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How to read statistics? Min = Minute; Shots = Shots Successful / Shots Attempted; 3 points = 3 points / attempt 3 points; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive jump; T = Total number of jumps; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal mistakes; Int = intercepts; Bp = lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Difference of points when the player is on the field; Points = Points; Rating: player rating calculated based on positive actions – negative actions.