When Karl-Anthony Towns, the center for the New York Knicks, faced the Minnesota Timberwolves, with whom he played the first nine seasons of his illustrious NBA career, the Target Center crowd gave him a thunderous cheer. Then, in the Knicks’ 133-107 victory, he went on to completely destroy his old squad, scoring 32 points, pulling down 20 rebounds, and dishing out six assists on 10-for-12 shooting, including 5 of 5 from 3-point range.
Towns’ outstanding effort made him the first player in NBA history to shoot more than 80% from the field in a single game and record more than 30 points, 20 rebounds, and five 3-pointers.
“My family and I place a lot of importance on this location. They were all trying to pretend it was just another game. After the victory, Towns stated on TNT, “I knew it wasn’t.” “I didn’t want to lose the game because of my feelings. I wasn’t just playing for fun. I had the win in mind.
However, did Towns have any additional incentive to perform that well against the franchise that had traded him? He didn’t share his actual thoughts. “I’m just happy that I was able to have the game I had today,” he stated. “I have something in my mind I won’t say.”
The Minnesota crowd gave the towns a standing ovation
Towns received a standing ovation and thunderous applause from the Minneapolis fans when a tribute film was shown on the Jumbotron prior to the game, as has become customary when a well-known former player makes their initial appearance.
Towns shot 40% on more than four 3-point tries per game and averaged 23 points, 11 rebounds, and three assists in almost 600 games with the Timberwolves. At this point in his career, his self-assured declaration that he is the “greatest big man shooter of all time” is difficult to dispute, as he has only gotten better as a Knicks player, hitting 44% from outside the arc on five tries a game going into Thursday night.
In a somewhat surprising offseason move, the Timberwolves sent Towns to New York in exchange for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, Keita Bates-Diop and future first-round pick in late September, just two months after Towns helped lead Minnesota to its first Western Conference finals appearance since 2004.
Two months after Towns helped lead Minnesota to its first Western Conference finals appearance since 2004, the Timberwolves made a somewhat unexpected offseason move by sending Towns to New York in late September in exchange for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, Keita Bates-Diop, and a future first-round pick.
Towns posted a single “…” on his X account, seemingly taken aback by the agreement.
On the Wolves media day before the season, Wolves player Anthony Edwards shared his thoughts on the trade. In a somewhat surprising offseason move, the Timberwolves sent Towns to New York in exchange for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, Keita Bates-Diop and future first-round pick in late September, just two months after Towns helped lead Minnesota to its first Western Conference finals appearance since 2004.
“I think everybody knows [Towns] is my brother,” Edwards remarked. “So that definitely hurts, but you know, it’s a business, so I just have to roll with it.”
Last season, Minnesota struggled to establish itself early on after finishing one game below the top seed in the Western Conference. Amidst a plethora of teams in the Play-In range out west, they are currently 14-12 after a recent hot streak that ended Thursday. Towns and the Knicks have fared considerably better; they went into Thursday with the second-best offensive rating in the league and improved to 17-10 with the victory in Minnesota.