Game Preview #30 – Timberwolves vs. Knicks

Minnesota Timberwolves vs. New York Knicks
Date: December 23rd, 2025
Time: 7:00 PM CST
Location: Target Center
Television Coverage: FanDuel Sports Network – North
Radio Coverage: Wolves App, iHeart Radio

Sunday night against the Giannis-less Bucks was the most obvious trap game imaginable. The kind where the warning signs aren’t subtle, they’re flashing neon, blaring sirens, and basically screaming, “Hey idiots, don’t do this.”

And yet, the Timberwolves did what these Timberwolves do: they ignored every call for caution and sleepwalked straight into a mess.

The first half was as uninspired as anything we’ve seen this season. Sloppy execution. Lethargic defensive effort. Another barrage of early missed threes. Milwaukee — an injured, limited, mediocre Milwaukee team — built a double-digit lead mostly because Minnesota seemed uninterested in playing even baseline NBA ball.

It was especially frustrating because this wasn’t a talent issue. This wasn’t about matchups. This was focus. This was effort. This was a team that once again appeared content to “play with its food” and assume the game would sort itself out later.

To their credit, the Wolves finally flipped the switch in the third quarter. A 20–0 run erased a 15-point deficit and briefly gave Minnesota control. And just when it felt like the Wolves had finally learned the lesson and would step on the throat, put the game away, and move on, they promptly forgot it again. Milwaukee re-entered the game because Minnesota relaxed, drifted, and stopped doing the things that sparked the comeback in the first place.

Enter Terrence Shannon Jr., who essentially applied the defibrillator to the Wolves with three massive threes in the fourth quarter. The Wolves regained the lead, and, for the first time all night, actually put some distance between themselves and the Bucks.

Even then, Minnesota couldn’t quite close the door. With under a minute left, it was a four-point game. Everyone in Target Center was holding their collective breath, wondering if the Wolves were about to invent a third late-game disaster in a matter of weeks.

They survived. Barely. A three-point win. Technically a success. Emotionally? One of the least satisfying victories of the season.

The maturity test wasn’t passed. The Wolves got the win, but it’s not hard to imagine a single missed shot, a whistle going the other way, or one bad bounce flipping the outcome completely. That’s the problem. The margin for error remains too thin against teams they should control.

Still, the standings don’t care how you feel. Minnesota got the W. And now the real stretch begins.

With Milwaukee out of the way, the Wolves stare down a brutal holiday run. The Knicks come to Target Center on Tuesday. Then it’s Christmas night in Denver against Nikola Jokić and a Nuggets team that’s already beaten Minnesota twice.

The NBA’s Christmas gift to the Wolves? Minnesota gets to face arguably the three best teams in the league in the span of four games. Minnesota passed the Thunder test. They survived the Bucks trap. Now two more measuring sticks arrive.

A split in the next two would be respectable. Three wins out of four in this stretch would be impressive. But given what’s at stake, both narratively and in the standings, the Wolves could gain serious ground if they’re ready to rise.

One thing is for certain. If they want any hope of pulling out holiday victories, they’ll need to be far better than they were Sunday night.

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KEYS TO THE GAME1. Bring the Size — and Actually Use It

The Knicks are one of the few teams that can match Minnesota pound-for-pound up front. Karl-Anthony Towns is no stranger to Target Center and will stretch the floor, test rotations, and create matchup headaches. Mitchell Robinson remains a problem. Wolves fans still remember how he wrecked them at Madison Square Garden earlier this season with offensive rebounds and constant rim pressure.

Minnesota has answers, but they have to commit to them.

Rudy Gobert has been excellent lately and needs to anchor this game. He has to control the glass, erase second-chance points, and be a constant presence around the rim. Julius Randle, meanwhile, has to rediscover the version of himself that made this team hum early in the season by being decisive, efficient, and willing to punish mismatches while also facilitating. Naz Reid’s role looms large too. He’ll be asked to match Towns’ spacing while also attacking downhill.

This is a game that could be decided in the trenches, and whichever frontcourt brings the sharper edge likely wins.

2. Shoot It Like You Mean It — For All Four Quarters

Minnesota’s three-point shooting has been wildly inconsistent. They’ve shown they can scorch teams, but have had a difficult time knocking them down during the past two weeks at Target Center. Against a Knicks team with real offensive firepower, the Wolves can’t afford another cold start.

That doesn’t mean forcing shots. It means ball movement. It means collapsing the defense, trusting the pass, and generating clean looks rather than dribbling into traffic and bailing out with contested threes. When Minnesota shoots within the flow, they’re dangerous. When they rush, they become their own worst enemy.

3. Win the Foul Game Before It Wins You

Jalen Brunson may not be Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but he lives in the same neighborhood. He’s a master manipulator of space, angles, and referees. He doesn’t just draw fouls. He manufactures them. And when the Wolves get sloppy at the point of attack, when the wings get beat cleanly and Rudy or Julius has to rotate late, Brunson turns that into a parade to the line and an early trip to the bonus.

That cannot happen in this game.

The Wolves’ perimeter defenders have to treat this like a containment mission, not a highlight contest. Strong chest-to-chest defense. No gambling. No reaching. No lazy closeouts that force the bigs into emergency rotations. If Minnesota keeps Brunson in front of them, they protect their bigs from foul trouble and keep the Knicks from dictating tempo through free throws.

4. This Is an Anthony Edwards Game

Against Milwaukee, Ant drifted. Not badly. Not disastrously. But noticeably. He wasn’t aggressive early, didn’t impose himself, and largely waited for the game to come to him. That’s fine against a wounded Bucks team. It’s not fine here.

This is a marquee matchup. Karl-Anthony Towns is back in Target Center. Julius Randle is on the other sideline. The building will be loud, emotional, and weird. That’s exactly when Edwards needs to remind everyone that this is his franchise now.

We’ve already seen the caveat game against New York earlier this season at Madison Square Garden, when Ant was fresh off the hamstring injury and clearly not himself. That excuse is gone. The foot soreness is behind him. And if Minnesota is going to beat a legitimate Eastern contender, they need Edwards operating at full throttle.

That doesn’t mean forcing shots. It means attacking early, collapsing the defense, setting the tone physically, and then letting the game open up. When Ant plays focused and aggressive, spacing improves, shooters get cleaner looks, and the Wolves stop drifting into that passive mode nearly cost them against Milwaukee.

This is the night where Edwards has to want the moment, not just survive it.

The Bigger Picture

Let’s be clear about what this game actually represents.

Minnesota escaped Milwaukee. They didn’t pass the maturity test. They survived it. They got the win, and now they’re staring down a stretch that defines who they are heading into the heart of the season.

The Knicks at Target Center with emotions and history baked in.
Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets waiting in Denver on Christmas Night.

You don’t get to fake your way through stretches like this.

A split would be acceptable. A sweep would announce Minnesota as a true heavyweight. But none of that happens if they play the way they did against Milwaukee with a sloppy start, relaxed finishes, and relying on late heroics to clean up self-inflicted messes.

This Knicks game is about more than standings. It’s about pride. It’s about proving that when Minnesota is whole, focused, and locked in, they can go punch-for-punch with anyone in the league.

Karl-Anthony Towns’ homecoming will be warm. The reception will be real. The nostalgia will be earned.

But once the ball goes up, it’s time to ruin the party.

If the Wolves want to make this a real holiday run and not just a fun December story, this is the night they have to show it.

Game Preview #30 – Timberwolves vs. Knicks

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