Timberwolves battle back to knock out Knicks

Karl Anthony-Towns converted the go-ahead three-point play with 29.3 seconds remaining moments after D’Angelo Russell came up with pivotal defensive play as the Minnesota Timberwolves rallied down the stretch for a 112-110 victory over the host New York Knicks on Tuesday night, January 18 (Wednesday, January 19, Manila time).

The Timberwolves blew a 12-point lead, survived getting outscored 40-25 in the third quarter, and overcame a five-point deficit in the final 3:41 by outscoring New York 10-3 down the stretch.

Towns gave Minnesota a 111-109 lead when he drove around Julius Randle for a layup and converted the subsequent foul shot. His clutch hoop occurred shortly after Russell forced RJ Barrett into a turnover when the ball deflected off Barrett’s fingertips with 48.2 seconds left.

Officials initially ruled Russell deflected the ball out of bounds, but Minnesota regained possession after winning a replay challenge.

After Towns hit the go-ahead basket, Randle split two free throws with 24.3 seconds left and Patrick Beverley then split a pair of free throws with 19.2 seconds left.

Towns then blocked Evan Fournier’s layup attempt with 4.9 seconds left and Alec Burks missed a three-pointer with one second left.

Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 21 points while Towns finished with 20. Russell added 17 and Jaylen Nowell chipped in 14 as the Wolves won for the sixth time in eight games.

Fournier led all scorers with 27 points and had 13 in New York’s flawless third quarter. Randle added 21 points, 9 assists, and 9 rebounds while Kemba Walker scored 10 of his 19 in the fourth, including three three-pointers in a span of 1:46 that put New York up 107-102 with 3:41 remaining.

Barrett finished with 17 points and also committed 7 of New York’s 18 turnovers.

The Wolves held a 61-51 lead at halftime and a 78-73 lead with 4:48 left in the third before the Knicks closed the third on an 18-8 run to claim a 91-86 lead. – Rappler.com