MINNEAPOLIS — Julius Randle had been relatively quiet, managing just 3-of-11 shooting from the floor.
Suddenly, he found his rhythm, locking eyes with his former team’s bench while sealing the Knicks’ fate.
Trailing by six in the final quarter, Randle delivered a personal 13-point run, extinguishing any hopes of a Knicks comeback. After snatching the ball from Karl-Anthony Towns and finishing with a dunk, he glared at the Knicks’ bench and pumped up the crowd, concluding the night with 25 points.
Adding to the Knicks’ woes, another former Knick, Donte DiVincenzo, nailed a crucial 3-pointer, stretching the Timberwolves’ lead to 17 points.
After a streak of seven consecutive victories, including the NBA Cup final (which doesn’t affect league standings), the Knicks have now lost two of their last three games, succumbing 115-104 on Tuesday night at the Target Center.
Despite the setback, the Knicks deserve some recognition. Opting to rest Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby due to their recent heavy workload, they made the game more competitive than anticipated, given the demanding schedule they’ve faced.
Down by 16 in the second quarter, it would have been easy to lay down and get ready to travel home. But they cut their deficit to six entering halftime. Then after giving up the first six points of the third quarter and facing a 12-point deficit, they could have eased up. But they ripped off a 17-3 run to take a two-point lead.
Towns, playing in Minnesota for just the second time since the Knicks’ blockbuster trade to acquire him right before the start of last season, was carrying them.
The bench, which coach Mike Brown was relying on much more than normal given how short-handed they were, was holding its own. Tyler Kolek, making his first career start, had a valiant showing, finishing with 20 points and 11 rebounds — both career-highs — along with eight assists.
Eventually, though, that lack of firepower was outclassed by the nearly full-strength Timberwolves.
Anthony Edwards was just coming back from an injury the last time these two teams met — a 137-114 Knicks win — on Nov. 5 and struggled, recording just 15 points on 5-for-13 shooting.
But he was at full force Tuesday, and without Anunoby to guard him, the Knicks had little answer.
He poured in 38 points, including 16 in the third quarter when the Timberwolves overcame the Knicks’ comeback. Mikal Bridges largely matched up with him and struggled.
Towns finished with 40 points.
Kolek, Mohamed Diawara and Kevin McCullar Jr. were on the floor at the same time at one point. McCullar had played a total of just one minute and 14 seconds before Tuesday. Pacôme Dadiet played eight minutes in the second quarter — that alone represented his biggest workload of the season — and 10 minutes total. He had appeared in 10 games this year before Tuesday, almost exclusively in garbage time and has bounced between the G-League and the NBA roster.
That’s not exactly a recipe for success. But the Knicks preferred to provide Brunson and Anunoby a bit of extra rest for the long haul.
When those decisions are made, they have to live with the result.
