03/20/23 09:25:00
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03/20 21:23 CDT Wolves overcome Randle's 57 points, beat Knicks 140-134
Wolves overcome Randle's 57 points, beat Knicks 140-134
By BRIAN MAHONEY
AP Basketball Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --- Julius Randle scored 57 points to tie the third-highest game
in Knicks history, but the Minnesota Timberwolves rode a sizzling start and a
steady finish to beat New York 140-134 on Monday night.
Taurean Prince scored a season-high 35 points and went 8 for 8 from 3-point
range for the Timberwolves, while Mike Conley added 24 points and 11 assists.
His three free throws gave Minnesota the lead for good with 2:17 remaining.
Randle's final basket, a three-point play with 42 seconds remaining, cut it to
137-134, but he was beaten to a rebound by Kyle Anderson on Minnesota's next
possession, and a cutting Prince scored inside with 10.1 seconds left before
Conley made a free throw after Randle was called for a technical foul.
In a spectacular display of shooting and scoring, the Timberwolves made more
than 70% of their shots in the first half and led by 17, before Randle carried
the Knicks back with a franchise-record 26 points in the third quarter.
He finished tied with Richie Guerin behind the only two 60-point games in
Knicks history, Carmelo Anthony's 62 on Jan. 24, 2014, and Bernard King's 60 on
Christmas Day in 1984. But the Knicks had their three-game winning streak
snapped.
The All-Star forward threw down a powerful driving dunk in the first quarter
but did most of his damage from much farther away. Randle made eight 3-pointers
in surpassing his previous career high of 46 points.
The Wolves made their first 10 shots in the most sizzling start by an NBA team
this season and didn't cool off much the rest of the game, finishing at 61.4%
despite playing without Anthony Edwards for a second straight game because of a
sprained right ankle.
Rudy Gobert's basket made the Wolves the first team this season to make its
first 10 shots, and Knicks fans loudly cheered when Jaden McDaniels missed
Minnesota's next attempt, nearly seven minutes into the game. The Wolves led
42-32 after one, shooting 16 for 22 (72.7%).
Prince's 3-pointer made it 70-53 with 4:35 left in the first half, but the
Knicks finally put together some stops to cut it to 79-70 at the break.
Then Randle came back and went 9 for 10 in the third, hitting 5 for 6 beyond
the arc. He raised his hand to fault himself after the one miss, an ill-advised
attempt that missed the rim by a couple feet. But he could hardly be blamed for
trying the way almost everything else he threw up was going in.
TIP-INS
Timberwolves: Coach Chris Finch said Karl-Anthony Towns was "really, really
close" to returning from his calf injury.
Knicks: Swingman Josh Hart arrived for the game wearing the No. 32 jersey of
his great uncle, Yankees great Elston Howard.
EDWARDS UPDATE
Finch said Edwards hadn't done anything besides get treatment thus far, but the
Wolves didn't rule him out until Monday, indicating his injury isn't as bad as
originally feared. "For sure there's some relief," Finch said. "But you know
Ant, like Ant always wants to play. He never thinks he's hurt, so hopefully it
is feeling better, which he says it is. But in terms of pain tolerance, range
of movement, stability, all those things, I think we're trying to figure out
where that really is with him."
NEW COACH, FAMILIAR FACE
Former Knicks coach Rick Pitino will be back on the sidelines at Madison Square
Garden for some St. John's games after being hired by the Red Storm on Monday.
The school announced he'd be introduced during a news conference Tuesday at the
arena.
"When I was a young coach, I used to watch his practices at Providence," Knicks
coach Tom Thibodeau said. "So he's good man, great coach and I know he'll do a
great job with St. John's."
UP NEXT
Timberwolves: Host Atlanta on Wednesday.
Knicks: At Miami on Wednesday. -__
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