NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. – The New York Knicks are much improved from last season. Wednesday night’s 107-102 win against the Minnesota Timberwolves, was the Knicks’ 12th win on the year. New York had all of 17 wins last season, and had it’s franchise’s worst season.
The Knicks did a great job of looking for the open man against Minnesota. New York as a team had 28 assists and shot 43% from the field, which is very encouraging for the triangle offense. This proves that when the Knicks run the offense it can be very effective. Carmelo Anthony even had nine assists, which led all Knick players. Anthony’s high assist count shows his teammates that he has faith in them.
Aside from dishing the ball, Anthony did it all for New York. Anthony finished the game with 20 points, 15 rebounds. If Anthony would’ve had one more assist, he could have had a triple double. This was arguably Anthony’s best game of the season and really looked healthy out there. All questions about if the knee is still bothering him were solved after this performance.
Aaron Afflalo finished the game with 29 points to lead all scorers. Afflalo showcased his full scoring repertoire Wednesday night, by scoring both on drives and from the perimeter. Phil Jackson made a great pick-up with Afflalo, who has done a great job being another dependable scorer for the Knicks. On the year, Afflalo is averaging 13.6 points per game and has scored in double digits in all but four games this season.
The Knicks were up by as many as 20 points, but the young Minnesota team made a comeback in the second half. The Timberwolves outscored the Knicks in the 3rd and 4th quarter, and were led by Karl Anthony Towns. Towns had a quiet first half, but finished the game with 25 points and 10 rebounds. The 1st pick in the 2015 NBA Draft was all that he was hyped up to be. Towns showed a great face-up game, a good perimeter shot, and a competitiveness that will be great to build around in Minnesota.
Zach LaVine (19 points) and Andrew Wiggins (23 points) also played good games. However, Ricky Rubio may have had the most impressive stat line of the night. Rubio finished with nine points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists and 8 steals. Rubio was everywhere on the court, and helped to make this game much more interesting down the stretch. Minnesota is a young team with a very high potential. Even though Minnesota lost to the Knicks, they will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come.
Kristaps Porzingis had a solid performance Wednesday night. Porzingis added 11 points, six rebounds and seven blocks. The seven blocks are very encouraging because Porzingis is starting to learn how to be an interior presence without fouling.
The Knicks got a great win Wednesday night, but still have the issue of finishing games. Even though New York managed to hold off the Timberwolves, it should have never been that close. The Knicks need to put teams away when they have them down, especially if they are serious about their playoff aspirations. The best teams stay just as aggressive when they are up big, and that is what New York needs to do.
New York will go on the road to face the Philadelphia 76ers (1-26) Friday night. The Knicks will look to pick up their third straight win, in a game that they should not lose.
Barry Holmes is a Senior Writer for PureSportsNY.com. Follow him on Twitter @BHO732