The Timberwolves came into this game in New York searching for a victory to bounce back in the Western Conference standings. Minnesota got some good news with Anthony Edwards injury as the swelling in his right ankle has gone down. He’s considered day to day and that’s really good knowing it was a scary sight.
The Knicks and Timberwolves came out on fire as it seemed like no one could miss in this game. One of the players that couldn’t was Minnesota’s Taurean Prince. Tonight was all about Prince as he was able to keep the Timberwolves in the game with his sharpshooting. Prince had a season high 35 points as it looked like any time the Timberwolves needed a big shot they went to Taurean. This is a true testament to the professionalism that Prince has as he was just waiting for his moment and that came tonight.
Prince hit a career high 8 (3 pointers) as the man couldn’t miss tonight. This was a huge boost to the team as Jaden McDaniels went out the game early with 3 fouls. It was Prince, Gobert, and Anderson who kept the team intact when McDaniels went out early. Rudy Gobert was able to set the tone in the paint early and that allowed the other players to get their rhythm. Rudy finished the game with 16 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists. None of the Knicks players were able to contain Gobert and that made it easier for the shooters on Minnesota to take full advantage. The Timberwolves had 7 scorers in double figures and this was a huge win for Minnesota. Mike Conley and Kyle Anderson were huge tonight as well because they were able to get the ball in the players sweet spots. They also have a lot of basketball IQ that was on full display.
The Knicks gave the Timberwolves a fight as Julius Randle made his presence known in this matchup. On the night Randle finished with 57 points as the Timberwolves didn’t mind him scoring it seemed as long as the other players weren’t making shots they could live with Randle. The Timberwolves were having trouble containing Randle but the good thing about it was the fact that defensively they looked good shutting down the second/third options.
The Timberwolves play at home against the ATL Hawks next and will look to stack up some wins to move up in the playoff standings.
Photo Credit: (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)