It’s still a little weird seeing Karl-Anthony Towns in another team’s uniform.

On the night before Christmas Eve, the Minnesota Timberwolves took on Towns and the New York Knicks in a game that was far less emotional than last year’s game between these two teams in Minnesota. While Towns has settled in with his new organization, with both the Knicks and Timberwolves making the Conference Finals last May, there was still a different energy when KAT and the Wolves match up.

Last season, in his return to Target Center, Towns torched the Wolves for 32 points on just 12 shot attempts in a 26-point win for the Knicks. The Wolves fell to 14-12 on the season, with the team feeling incredibly disconnected, leading to many questions from fans and media about whether or not trading Towns was the smart move.

Tonight was a much different story. The Wolves took down the Knicks 115-104 in a game they led most of the second half. Towns played well again, scoring 40 points and fouling out in classic KAT fashion, but without Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby, the Wolves’ defense held the rest of the Knicks roster in check.

The key sequence came in the fourth quarter when Julius Randle, playing against his former team, scored 15 straight Timberwolves points as the Wolves’ lead ballooned to 14 points in the midst of a 16-7 run.

Randle finished the game with 25 points, 17 of which came in the fourth quarter as the Wolves put the game away. Julius spoke in the locker room after the game about being able to play well late in the game after struggling to make shots in the first half.

“Just being present. For me, that’s what I try to work on. Just being in the moment, not worrying about the future or what’s happened in the past. Just that exact moment and I think being in the league for 12 years too helps a little bit.”

Anthony Edwards led the Wolves with 38 points. With Mike Conley and Bones Hyland playing most of the point guard minutes, Edwards found most of his scoring in the flow of the offense, scoring on cuts to the rim and open catch-and-shoot 3-pointers.

Edwards spoke about how he felt tonight, shifting back to more of a shooting guard role with Conley back in the starting lineup with Jaden McDaniels out.

“Playing off the ball, I feel like it’s better for me, because I really don’t have to pass. Because somebody else is passing me the ball. It’s not my responsibility to find people if I’m off the ball.”

Rudy Gobert continued his sensational stretch of play as he dominated the paint on both ends of the floor. He finished with 11 points, 16 rebounds, three blocks, and two steals. While he may not get the recognition he deserves, Gobert has played some of his best basketball during his time in Minnesota, consistently reaching his bar in terms of defensive value, while finding new highs in his offensive game.

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch described how he has felt about Gobert’s recent stretch of play.

“It’s Defensive Player of the Year stuff. It’s every bit as good as it was two seasons ago and every other time he’s won the award. I mean, it’s just, it’s phenomenal.”

Gobert spoke as well about playing like a DPOY candidate, saying, “It feels good. I feel like I’m coming in every night with the mindset of helping the team win and be who I am, which is, I think, the best defender in the world. I know that I have to be that consistently for us to achieve what we want to achieve as a team.”

The Timberwolves are now 20-10 and have won 10 of their last 12 games. It is just the second time in the past 20 years they have won 20 or more of their first 30 games. There may have been bumps along the way, but the Wolves have been playing outstanding basketball. Nights like tonight at Target Center, on the night before Christmas Eve, make Wolves fans (and media) thankful for the outstanding team they get to watch.

There’s still a long way to go, but the Timberwolves look like every bit the team that can achieve incredible heights come the spring.

For the second straight season, the Timberwolves play on Christmas Day. Last year, they defeated the Dallas Mavericks in what ended up being Luka Dončić’s final game in a Mavericks uniform. This year, they take on a familiar foe, the Denver Nuggets, at 9:30 PM CT on ABC and ESPN.