The Minnesota Timberwolves took on the New York Knicks at Target Center on Monday night. With the Timberwolves searching to keep their undefeated home streak alive to start the season, they took care of business by a final score of 117-100 to move to 6-0 on their home floor. Monday night’s win over the Knicks was a great beginning to the Wolves’ short three-game home stand.
Karl Anthony Towns delivers for Timberwolves
Timberwolves star big man Karl-Anthony Towns continued to build upon the best two-way season of his career in Monday night’s victory. Towns shot an efficient 6-of-10 from the field, including two made 3-pointers. He finished the game with 20 points, five rebounds and four assists while forcing Knicks star Julius Randle into an off night from the field. Randle shot just 1-of-6 from behind the arc and 6-of-16 overall.
When asked about the Timberwolves' hot start to the season at home, Towns quickly responded by stating, “The great teams take care of home. I think we’re doing a really good job of understanding what we have to do at home to be a successful team.”
To KAT’s credit, the Timberwolves have been playing like a great team, which has all started with winning at home. In home games this season, Minnesota is 6-0 with an absolutely ridiculously average margin of victory. Through those six home games, the Timberwolves have outscored their opponents by 108 points, +18.0 points on average.
These home games haven’t been against slouches either. With home wins against the Miami Heat, Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets and, now, the New York Knicks, the Timberwolves look legit. At Target Center, Minnesota is shooting 51.7% from the field and 36.4% from 3-point land. With those shooting splits and their tough defense, the Wolves are virtually unbeatable in Minnesota.
Towns emphasized the importance of following their game plan in order to continue finding success.
“One word Minnesota has lacked is execution. If we execute at a high level, we can see our fortunes change here,” said Towns. “We all have the will to win on a consistent basis.”
After the victory Monday night, the Timberwolves are 9-1 in their last 10 games. With a 10-3 record overall, the Wolves own the top seed in the Western Conference. Clearly, Minnesota's fortunes have changed from last season to this season.
Rudy Gobert praises the defense
During their recent five-game road trip, the Timberwolves allowed 114.8 points on average. The message around the team before and after Monday’s night game was unanimous: the defense has to be better.
Rudy Gobert reiterated that message postgame by saying, “Great defensive teams have got to be ready from the jump. We got back to who we are. Playing with fire. You don’t want to give guys any type of confidence.”
The Timberwolves didn’t allow an inch to the New York Knicks on Monday night. New York shot just 32-of-92 from the field, an abysmal 34.8% field goal percentage as Minnesota's stifling defense was back in grand force. The Knicks finished 9-of-38 (23.7%) from 3-point territory and struggled all night long. They did crawl to the century mark, finishing with exactly 100 points, and it’s also worth noting that 27 of those 100 points came from the foul line. Minnesota matched the Knicks’ physicality and found serious success by doing so.
Wolves fans in attendance were loving Gobert’s effort against the NBA’s leading offensive rebounder in Mitchell Robinson. Gobert heard multiple “Rudy! Rudy!” chants on the night and was very grateful postgame.
“It’s very cool to see that. The fans appreciate the effort that I bring,” Gobert added, “I try to bring 200% every night. I try to be the best Rudy I can be.”
On the season, Gobert has been a true force for the Timberwolves nightly. Gobert is averaging a double-double for the eighth consecutive season, with averages of 12.0 points and 11.8 rebounds a night. Monday night was no exception as the Frenchman poured in 16 points on 7-of-7 shooting and executed numerous boxouts to keep Robinson off the glass.
It’s still early, but the Minnesota Timberwoolves are rolling and look to be real threats in a loaded Western Conference. The Wolves will look to move to 7-0 at home Wednesday night when they take on the Philadelphia 76ers.
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