Fans will finally return to the garden in limited numbers starting Tuesday, two nights after the Knicks barely got an emotional victory in their last game in front of an empty arena.
Tom Thibodeau’s team gained a 21-point lead in the second half, but ultimately gave him the gift of a win in his first game against the Timberwolves since he was fired by Minnesota in 2019, pulling out a 103-99 victory. Sunday to open a four-game household.
In his last contest before the All-Star reserves were called up on Tuesday, Julius Randle finished with 25 points and 14 rebounds as the Knicks improved to 15-16, coming into play that night against Golden State.
RJ Barrett added 21 and Alec Burks (13) pulled out four key free throws in the final 21 seconds for the Knicks, who had three days off between games due to Saturday’s postponement against San Antonio after several Spurs tested positive. the 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 at the end of the third quarter, but Minnesota opened the fourth on a 20-6 run to close in on a 3-pointer from Towns with just five minutes left.
An inner bucket from Towns gave the Timberwolves the lead with one at 2:48, but Randle took two free throws, and Burks added four more from the tape in the final seconds.
Jersey cities played their seventh game after losing four weeks after a positive COVID test in January. Her mother, Jacqueline, and six other family members died last year from the virus.
“He is a great player. He went through a lot of adversity and obviously you care about him first as a person and as a family – his father, his sister “, said Thibodeau before the game. “In terms of basketball, when he is healthy, he is one of the best players in the league. So he has been a little unfortunate in terms of his injuries over the last two years, but he is an extraordinary talent. ”
The T-Wolves did not have former Nets All-Star D’Angelo Russell (knees), but this was Knicks’ first look at Edwards, general choice no. 1 of the 2020 draft in Georgia.
Quickley, Kentucky’s 25th pick, said before the game that he and Edwards were teammates in a prospective camp while still in high school. They also clashed several times last year in the SEC.
Edwards entered the rookie’s second-place finish on Sunday with a score of 14.3 points per game, just behind goalie Charlotte LaMelo Ball (14.4), with Quickley third at 12.4 points.
Quickley, who play only 19.4 minutes per game in a backup role, led our league students in the player efficiency rating (PER), a measure that measures the productivity of one player per minute.
Towns and Rubio all scored Minnesota points early in a 15-15 draw, but the Knicks closed out the first quarter with a 15-3 lead – five points from Burks, four from Quickley and a transition from Barrett – for a 12 – knit pillow.
Minnesota drew four in the middle of the second, but eight Randle points at the end of the quarter – including a 3-pointer just before the horn – helped the Knicks take a 61-50 lead at the break. All five starters hit double-digit points before the end of the third, as the Knicks led by up to 21 and built an 87-71 lead into the final quarter.