Karl-Anthony Towns had a sensational performance against his old team, the Minnesota Timberwolves, in the New York Knicks' preseason game. Playing at the Garden against his former team, Towns put on a great performance, putting up 16 points, 16 rebounds, and 3 steals in the Knicks' 115-110 win over the Timberwolves.
Towns started the game off hot, with a simple, but effective dunk against the Timberwolves' defense that failed to adapt to his pick-and-roll strategy with OG Anunoby, allowing Towns to get to the rim for an easy finish.
Towns would then show why he is considered one of the best big men shooters of all time, as in the second quarter, he made a catch-and-shoot three that some of the best shooters in the league would've applauded.
With a minute left in the first half, Towns did not slow down, as he got the ball in his hands, and decided to test the Timberwolves' interior defense for the first time while playing against them. He drove past Rudy Gobert, and Josh Minot who came to support him to put up a tough layup.
In the second half, with the Timberwolves still in the lead, Towns played a big part in them cutting down their advantage. And with the game within their reach, Towns nailed the Timberwolves with a big three-pointer to help the Knicks take the lead.
With the lead going back and forth in the third quarter, the Knicks showed just how scary they can be with Towns in the starting lineup, displaying their excellent ball movement, with Towns moving into the paint and getting the easy pass for a layup to tie scores with under two minutes left in the third quarter.
It was a great outing from Towns, even if his shooting was uncharacteristically poor tonight. Towns shot 5-13 from the field, and 2-6 from the three-point line. With his percentages at 38.4% from the field and 33.3% from the three-point line, Towns shot way under his career percentages of 52.4% from the field and 39.8% from the three.
Timberwolves Having Buyers Remorse Over Towns Trade?
While Karl-Anthony Towns may have been eager to show the Timberwolves that trading him was a mistake, he didn't show any anger or aggression toward the team before or after the game. He was spotted after the game trading and signing jerseys with former teammate Anthony Edwards and told a reporter that it felt 'weird' to play against his former team, despite being happy about the win.
Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch also spoke about having played against his former player on his new team so quickly, comparing it to a death in the family, and how one has to make it past the strangeness very quickly to adapt.
“It’s just like a death in the family in some ways, you know, you gotta make it through that first year, and everything's gonna be a little odd once we get started.”
KAT will be thrilled with his performance, even with the few downsides to his game, such as his less-than-stellar shooting and his lack of assists. However, with this being the preseason, it allows Towns to figure out what he needs to work on with the Knicks. But so far, Towns looks like the piece the Knicks were missing to compete for a championship.
