MINNEAPOLIS — Julius Randle had been quiet, just 3-for-11 from the field.
Then all of a sudden, he was staring down his former team’s bench as he put the Knicks away.
With the Knicks down six points in the fourth quarter, he scored 15 straight Timberwolves points — and 17 in the fourth quarter — to end any thought of a comeback. After stripping Karl-Anthony Towns and dunking on the other end, he mean-mugged the Knicks bench and flexed to the crowd. He finished with 25 points.
To dig the knife further, it was the other ex-Knick, Donte DiVincenzo, who hit the dagger, drilling a 3-pointer to give the Timberwolves a 17-point lead.
After winning seven in a row (including the NBA Cup final, which doesn’t count in the standings), the Knicks have dropped two of their past three as they fell 115-104 Tuesday night at the Target Center.
“He was just aggressive,” coach Mike Brown said of Randle. “He was just taking it right to us. We started blitzing [Anthony] Edwards, and they basically just gave him the ball and he put his head down and he attacked our chests. Again, we gotta give them credit, because he used his footwork, he used his power, he used his strength, he used his quickness to get by us, to finish at the rim and to get to the free-throw line.”
Karl-Anthony Towns of the New York Knicks shoots the ball during the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on December 23, 2025 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NBAE via Getty Images
Give the Knicks credit, though. They basically decided to punt Tuesday’s game, but made it more competitive than it probably should have been. They rested Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby, having logged heavy minutes of late amid a busy schedule. Those two average a combined 44.6 points per game, with Anunoby also representing their best defensive player.
Down by 16 in the second quarter, it would have been easy to lay down and get ready to travel home. But they cut their deficit to six entering halftime. Then after giving up the first six points of the third quarter and facing a 12-point deficit, they could have eased up. But they ripped off a 17-3 run to take a two-point lead.
Towns, playing in Minnesota for just the second time since the Knicks’ blockbuster trade to acquire him right before the start of last season, was carrying them. The bench, which coach Mike Brown was relying on much more than normal given how short-handed they were, was holding its own. Tyler Kolek, making his first career start, had a valiant showing, finishing with 20 points and 11 rebounds — both career highs — along with eight assists.
Eventually, though, that lack of firepower was outclassed by the nearly full-strength Timberwolves. The Knicks committed 19 turnovers as well, struggling against the Timberwolves’ physicality. Josh Hart had six of them.
Julius Randle of the Minnesota Timberwolves celebrates during the game against the New York Knicks on December 23, 2025 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NBAE via Getty Images
“We battled back and then we just didn’t play good enough to finish it,” Hart said. “I had too many turnovers. Some of those turnovers turned into easy baskets, and that kind of kills any momentum we kind of have. I gotta be better.”
Anthony Edwards was just coming back from an injury the last time these two teams met — a 137-114 Knicks win — on Nov. 5 and struggled, recording just 15 points on 5-for-13 shooting. But he was at full force Tuesday, and without Anunoby to guard him, the Knicks had little answer. He poured in 38 points, including 16 in the third quarter when the Timberwolves overcame the Knicks’ comeback. Mikal Bridges largely matched up with him and struggled.
Towns finished with 40 points but was not able to carry the Knicks single-handedly.
What’s happening on and off the Garden court
Sign up for Inside the Knicks by Stefan Bondy, a weekly exclusive on Sports+.
Thank you
“I knew what the situation was,” Towns said. “I knew that the ball would find me more today and I wanted to be aggressive, impact winning. I thought I just wanted to do whatever it took to come out of here with a win. Obviously we didn’t do enough, I didn’t do enough. This is going to be a tough plane ride home.”
Kolek, Mohamed Diawara and Kevin McCullar Jr. were on the floor at the same time at one point. McCullar had played a total of just one minute and 14 seconds before Tuesday. Pacôme Dadiet played eight minutes in the second quarter — that alone represented his biggest workload of the season — and 11 minutes total. He had appeared in 10 games this year before Tuesday, almost exclusively in garbage time and has bounced between the G League and the NBA roster.
That’s not exactly a recipe for success. But the Knicks preferred to provide Brunson and Anunoby a bit of extra rest for the long haul. When those decisions are made, they have to live with the result.
“We did fight in spurts,” Brown said. “But I’m greedy just like everyone in that locker room is. We’re all competitive and we know we could’ve done a better job.”