New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns received a rousing ovation from the Target Center faithful as he took the court on Thursday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves, with whom he spent the first nine seasons of his prolific NBA career. Then he proceeded to absolutely eviscerate his former team to the tune of 32 points, 20 rebounds and six assists on 10-for-12 shooting, including 5 of 5 from 3-point range, in the Knicks’ 133-107 win.
With that sterling performance, Towns became the first player in NBA history to post 30-plus points, 20-plus rebounds and five 3-pointers while shooting better than 80% from the field in a single game.
“This place means a lot to me and my family. Everyone was trying to make it seem like it was just another game. I knew it wasn’t,” Towns said on TNT after the win. “I didn’t want to let my emotions overcome the game. I wasn’t playing for myself. I was playing for the win.”
But was there any extra motivation for Towns to put up that performance against the team that traded him away? He kept his true thoughts close to the vest.
“I’m just happy that I was able to have the game I had today,” he said. “I have something in my mind I won’t say.”
Towns greeted with huge ovation by Minnesota crowd
As has become typical when a prominent former player returns for the first time, Towns was honored before the game with a tribute video played on the Jumbotron, followed by a standing ovation and massive cheers from the Minneapolis crowd.
In nearly 600 games with the Timberwolves, Towns averaged 23 points, 11 rebounds and three assists while shooting 40% on over four 3-point attempts per game. His confident proclamation of being “greatest big man shooter of all time” is hard to refute at this stage in his career, as he’s only improved his marksmanship as a member of the Knicks, shooting 44% from deep on over five attempts per game entering 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.
Towns himself appeared to be shocked by the deal, posting a simple “…” on his X feed.
Wolves star Anthony Edwards expressed his feelings about the trade during Wolves media day prior to the season.
“I think everybody knows [Towns] is my brother,” Edwards said. “So that definitely hurts, but you know, it’s a business, so I just have to roll with it.”
After finishing one game out of the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference last season, Minnesota struggled to find its footing early. A recent hot streak prior to Thursday’s loss has them sitting at 14-12, among a morass of teams in Play-In range out West. Things have fared much better for Towns and the Knicks, who improved to 17-10 with the win in Minnesota and entered Thursday with the league’s second-best offensive rating.
