The Wolves were without Karl-Anthony Towns on Sunday night against the Knicks after he suffered a right knee injury on Saturday night against the Wizards. Towns has been one of the best players in the entire league over the last month. And while the Wolves would have loved him in this one, other players stepped up and led the Wolves to a 103-92 win at Target Center.
In fairness, the Knicks aren’t exactly the 1995-96 Bulls, but still – an NBA win is an NBA win.
The Wolves got a nice mixture of contributions. Taj Gibson started for Towns and had a season-high 25 points to go with eight rebounds and two steals. Jeff Teague bounced back after an ugly Saturday night and finished with 20 points and 10 assists, his 11th double-double of the season.
For the second-straight night, rookie Keita Bates-Diop put up a career high in points. Starting for Andrew Wiggins (thigh contusion) for the second-straight game, KBD finished with 18 points, six rebounds, two steals and two blocks. He shot 7-for-12 from the field and 2-for-3 from the 3-point line. Expect an in-depth piece on the rookie from our Julian Andrews later this week. Tyus Jones added 13 points, while Dario Saric had 11 points.
The Wolves led by as much as 20 in the game and forced 17 turnovers.
Damyean Dotson led New York with 26 points, while Allonzo Trier had 15. Dennis Smith Jr. and Kevin Knox both scored 13.
It marked Minnesota’s sixth-straight win at Target Center dating back to Feb. 11. The Wolves are now 23-10 at home. Homecourt advantage is real.
The win improved the Wolves to 32-35 on the season, 10th in the West. The Knicks fall to 13-54, last in the East and the entire NBA. Minnesota swept the season series 2-0.
The Wolves are back at it on Tuesday in Denver. Tipoff is set for 9:30 p.m. on TNT and 830 WCCO. It’s the start of a three-game road trip.