Anthony Edwards scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, helping the Minnesota Timberwolves pull away for a 117-100 win over the New York Knicks on Monday night in Minneapolis.
Karl-Anthony Towns added 20 points for Minnesota, which won for the ninth time in its past 10 games. Rudy Gobert had 16 points and made all seven of his field-goal attempts as the Timberwolves won for the ninth time in 10 games.
Jalen Brunson led New York with 25 points to go along with a team-high six assists. Julius Randle tallied 21 points and 14 rebounds, Immanuel Quickley scored 15 off the bench and Mitchell Robinson amassed 10 points and 11 boards for the Knicks, who had won six of their previous seven games.
The Timberwolves opened the second half on an 11-0 run to pull ahead 69-56. Edwards started the run with a pull-up jumper, and Towns hit a 3-pointer on the next possession.
Robinson had a dunk to end the Knicks’ scoring drought with 9:34 remaining in the third quarter. New York pulled within 70-61 soon after, but that was as close as the visitors could get for the rest of the quarter.
Minnesota relied on a 17-6 run to seize a 93-71 lead late in the third quarter.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker had several key contributions during the run, including a sequence in which he assisted on a dunk by Gobert and drained a 3-pointer in a span of 37 seconds.
The beginning of the fourth quarter featured more of the same as the Knicks struggled to keep pace. The Timberwolves exceeded the century mark when Edwards hit a shot from beyond the arc to make it 102-83 with 7:21 to go.
The Knicks closed the gap to 12 points thanks to an 8-1 run. Donte DiVincenzo made two free throws to cut the deficit to 103-91 with 5:45 left.
Less than three minutes later, the Timberwolves surged back to a 19-point advantage at 115-96, and they led by double digits the rest of the way.
Minnesota held a 58-56 lead at the half.
Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels injured his right ankle during the first quarter and did not return. He finished with four points in five minutes.
–Field Level Media