BBNBA: Karl-Anthony Towns sinks Knicks in MSG
After a busy couple of weeks, Tuesday offered a meager two-game slate of NBA action. Lucky for us bloggers, they were packed with ex-‘Cats putting up big numbers. Let’s dive in.
KAT, Wolves top Knicks to reach .500
It’s been a season of runs for the Timberwolves, good and bad. So far this season, they’ve had separate win streaks of five, four and four, with an L6 and L5 sandwiched in between. All that averages out to a whole lot of averageness, as evidenced when they hit .500 Tuesday for the seventh time.
Even so, they stand tied with the Lakers for the seventh spot in the West, which would give Karl-Anthony Towns his first playoff appearance since 2018 if the season ended today. Wouldn’t that be nice?
Their latest victory came in the form of a 112-110 nail-biter over Julius Randle and the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden. The Wolves endured a three-point barrage by Kemba Walker in the fourth quarter, then pulled it out thanks to this and-one finish by Towns right in Randle’s face:
Towns ended up with 20 points and five rebounds, his fifth consecutive 20-burger. After the game, he spoke on the significance of the moment given where it took place:
On the other side, Randle finished with a robust 21 points, nine rebounds, nine assists and four blocks. He even put the moves on defensive wizard Jarred Vanderbilt a time or two:
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Still, it wasn’t enough to prevent New York (22-23) from dipping below .500 for the third time this season. They’ll aim to right that ship against New Orleans on Thursday, while the Wolves seek to pass the Mendoza line in Atlanta tonight.
Diallo posts double-double in loss
The second game of the night was much less competitive, as you might expect when the second-best team in the league plays host to the second-worst. And now that the Warriors have Klay Thompson back and rolling, the Pistons never stood a chance.
Thompson finished with a season-high 21 points, delighting the home fans as Golden State cruised to a 102-86 victory. It overshadowed another solid performance by Hamidou Diallo, who chipped in a 16-point, 13-board double-double in Oakland.
He was joined in the double-figure scoring column by Trey Lyles, who bullied his way to 13 points on 9-12 from the free-throw line — plus this:
Dwane Casey’s Pistons (10-33) will try again to reach coveted win No. 11 in Sacramento tonight.
News & Notes
- ICYMI, Ashton Hagans had a monster day in the G-League on Sunday, posting 21 points, 11 assists and seven steals.
- After being waived by the Mavericks, the path back to the NBA for Willie Cauley-Stein could be a little more difficult.
- The Ben Simmons trade rumors are heating up, and the Kings are once again floating De’Aaron Fox‘s name. Would Fox be a fit in Philly?
Full stats from Tuesday are below:
| Player | Result | Points | FG(3P) | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | Turnovers | Minutes | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Devin Booker (PHX) | 114-109 W @ PHI | 35 | 11-23 (3-8) | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 37 | +13 |
| De’Aaron Fox (SAC) | 134-114 L vs. MIN | 29 | 11-22 (4-6) | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 35 | -17 |
| Julius Randle (NYK) | 132-115 L @ DEN | 28 | 11-22 (3-8) | 10 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 34 | -8 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN) | 134-114 W @ SAC | 25 | 10-14 (2-3) | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 28 | +13 |
| Anthony Davis (LAL) | 131-116 L vs. MIL | 22 | 8-10 (0-0) | 9 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 37 | -8 |
| Malik Monk (LAL) | 131-116 L vs. MIL | 20 | 7-16 (3-10) | 3 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 32 | -6 |
| Hamidou Diallo (DET) | 116-86 L @ DAL | 18 | 6-14 (1-4) | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 26 | -3 |
| Tyrese Maxey (PHI) | 114-109 L vs. PHX | 14 | 5-16 (0-4) | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 34 | -1 |
| Trey Lyles (DET) | 116-86 L @ DAL | 12 | 5-8 (0-2) | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 18 | -19 |
| Jarred Vanderbilt (MIN) | 134-114 W @ SAC | 9 | 4-7 (0-0) | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 21 | -1 |
| Enes Freedom (BOS) | 126-91 W @ BKN | 7 | 3-6 (1-1) | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | +9 |
| Immanuel Quickley (NYK) | 132-115 L @ DEN | 5 | 2-9 (0-5) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18 | -11 |
| Brandon Boston Jr. (LAC) | 135-109 L @ MEM | 4 | 2-6 (0-2) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 12 | +4 |
| Kevin Knox (ATL) | 133-112 W vs. IND | 2 | 1-3 (0-1) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | -5 |
| Nerlens Noel (NYK) | 132-115 L @ DEN | DNP – Knee | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jamal Murray (DEN) | 132-115 W vs. NYK | DNP – ACL | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Isaiah Jackson (IND) | 133-112 L @ ATL | DNP – Ankle | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Eric Bledsoe (POR) | 113-95 L vs. ORL | DNP – Achilles | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| John Wall (HOU) | 110-97 L @ NOP | DNP – Personal | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Today in the NBA:
7:00 – Magic @ 76ers (Maxey)
7:00 – Nets @ Wizards
7:30 – Timberwolves (KAT, Vanderbilt) @ Hawks (Knox)
7:30 (ESPN) – Hornets (Washington, Richards) @ Celtics (Freedom)
7:30 – Trail Blazers @ Heat (Adebayo, Herro)
8:00 – Cavaliers (Rondo*) @ Bulls
8:00 – Grizzlies @ Bucks
8:30 – Raptors @ Mavericks
8:30 – Thunder (SGA, Sarr) @ Spurs (Johnson)
9:00 – Rockets (Wall*) @ Jazz
10:00 (ESPN) – Nuggets (Murray*) @ Clippers (Bledsoe, Boston Jr., Gabriel)
10:00 – Pistons (Diallo, Lyles) @ Kings (Fox)
10:30 – Pacers (Jackson) @ Lakers (Davis*, Monk)
* – inactive
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