With a few more wins in their respective conference finals series last spring, the New York Knicks and Minnesota Timberwolves would have advanced to the NBA Finals and figured out the ultimate way to determine the winner of their blockbuster October 2024 trade.

But the evidence continues to mount the deal between the teams was a mutually fruitful one.

A trio of players familiar with one another will take the floor Wednesday night, when the Knicks continue a season-high seven-game homestand by hosting the Timberwolves.

The key players in the trade all had impressive nights while leading their teams to victory in the metropolitan New York area on Monday night. Karl-Anthony Towns posted a double-double as the Knicks pulled away for a 119-102 win over the Washington Wizards, while Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo were among the leading scorers as the visiting Timberwolves beat the Brooklyn Nets 125-109.

Towns finished with a season-best 33 points to go with 13 rebounds for his sixth double-double in seven games this year. He had 58 double-doubles in 72 regular season games last year before posting 13 more in the playoffs, when the Knicks reached the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2000 before falling to the Indiana Pacers in six games.

Towns, a native of nearby Edison, N.J., who spent his first nine NBA seasons with the Timberwolves, has also taken well to the white-hot New York spotlight that often seemed to make Randle uncomfortable.

“‘KAT’ was a monster,” Knicks head coach Mike Brown said Monday night. “He was a monster on the glass, he was really good defensively, he was a monster inside, outside. He’s starting to feel and find his rhythm in what we’re trying to do.

“I’m telling you, there’s a lot of room there to grow, not just for him but for us around him.”

Randle and DiVincenzo have also thrived with the Timberwolves, who reached the Western Conference finals for the second straight year last spring and lost to the eventual NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder in five games.

DiVincenzo, who averaged 11.7 points per game as a key reserve last year, set season highs with 25 points and six 3-pointers Monday, when Randle (19 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists) posted his first regular-season triple-double with Minnesota.

Randle had 14 regular-season double-doubles last year and two more in the postseason, including a triple-double against the Golden State Warriors in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals.

“Those are always fun,” Randle said after he closed out the triple-double by dishing to Naz Reid for a 3-pointer with 3:18 left on Monday. “It’s a credit to my teammates making shots. Can’t do it if they don’t make shots. They made shots. They were in the right places, made it easy for me and I was able to make it happen.”

DiVincenzo and Randle may get some additional help Wednesday. Guard Anthony Edwards, who has missed the last four games with a strained right hamstring, returned to practice Tuesday and is listed as questionable.

Knicks center Mitchell Robinson was inactive Monday night as the team continues to manage his workload following a pair of left ankle surgeries. Robinson has played in two of New York’s seven games.

–Field Level Media

The Washington Wizards will be striving to end a five-game losing streak when they visit the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night.

Inconsistency at the defensive end of the court has been a major issue for Washington, which has allowed at least 119 points in six of its seven games. The Wizards enter Wednesday’s matchup allowing an average of 127.0 points per game. Brooklyn (127.6) is the only NBA team allowing more through Monday’s games.

“It’s all about defense,” Washington guard Bilal Coulibaly said. “Playing defense is going to get us more wins, so that’s what we gotta do. … We all have to be on the same page and focus.”

The Wizards held the Knicks to 22 points in the first quarter and 21 points in the fourth quarter during New York’s 119-102 home victory Monday, but Washington surrendered a total of 76 points in the middle two quarters.

“Just get better,” Washington coach Brian Keefe said. “That’s what you can control. That’s the great thing about our group. They’re always focused on what we can learn and then take that information and bring it into the next game, and I think we’re seeing that. We’re growing in certain ways. That’s all you can do.”

The Celtics have plenty of things to fix as well. Boston is 1-3 at home this season and will be desperate to avoid a third straight home loss Wednesday. Boston blew a 14-point first-half lead and dropped a 105-103 decision to Utah at home Monday. The Jazz scored 38 points in the third quarter after being held to 36 points in the first half.

“Our first half was great, and I think the third quarter, they got the best of us, and they played harder than us,” Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said. “It was a combination of just transition, offensive rebounds, and then some of their dribble-drive stuff, not being able to defend without fouling. So you have to be able to put a full game together. The first half was good. Third quarter cost us, and when it’s a close game like that, it’s anybody’s game.”

Boston shot 11-for-51 on 3-point attempts (21.6%) in the loss. The Celtics are shooting 31.2% from 3-point territory this season. Only Indiana has a worse 3-point field-goal percentage (30.2).

“It’s a new team, so we’re figuring it out,” Boston guard Payton Pritchard said. “We’re learning. We’ve got a lot of things we’ve got to keep getting better at and we’re willing to work. So we’re going to get better at it and we’ll grow. And by the end of the season, I can promise we’re going to be a better team than when we started. So that’s a promise.”

Forward Kyshawn George is Washington’s leading scorer (17.9 ppg). Center Alex Sarr leads the team in rebounds (8.4), assists (4.1) and blocked shots (2.1) to go with 17.3 ppg.

Jaylen Brown (26.8 ppg) leads Boston in scoring, but guards Derrick White (26.3%) and Pritchard (21.3%) have both struggled from behind the 3-point arc.

“Just gotta figure out a way to play for 48 minutes,” White said. “It’s simple. I mean, it’s not simple, but that’s what we have to do.”

–Field Level Media

The Brooklyn Nets’ pursuit of their first win of the season continues on Wednesday night when they visit the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis.

The Nets fell for the seventh time in as many games on Monday with a 125-109 setback to a Minnesota Timberwolves team that was missing All-Star guard Anthony Edwards (hamstring).

Cam Thomas scored 25 points and Nic Claxton collected 19 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for Brooklyn, which also started 0-7 to begin the 2015-16 season. The worst start in the team’s NBA history, however, came in 2009-10 when it went 0-18 while playing in New Jersey.

Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez wasn’t interested in the doom and gloom, however. In fact, he saw positives in the team’s play on Monday.

“I think the energy in the group was great,” Fernandez said. “It’s part of life, you have to embrace adversity and try to figure it out. If we play like this, we’re gonna start seeing wins. That’s the identity we want to show, when we fight and fight and play the right way.

“… You can build from this. Things don’t change overnight. Right now, we’re seeing positive steps. That’s what I want to keep seeing from the group.”

Fernandez might want to see his team play a bit stingier on defense. After all, the Timberwolves shot a scintillating 56.4% from the floor and 40% from 3-point range. They also exploited the interior to the tune of 56 points in the paint.

Brooklyn’s Noah Clowney totaled 15 points and six rebounds after being inserted into the starting lineup in place of Michael Porter Jr., who sat out due to undisclosed personal reasons.

“I think we played hard. I think in the fourth they made shots and we didn’t, that’s the reality,” Clowney said, per the New York Daily News. “And a lot of transition stuff, we could’ve avoided, but I think we played a lot better. We looked like a team (Monday), I think.”

The defending Eastern Conference champion Pacers were unable to build off their first win of the season and dropped a 117-115 decision to the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday.

Giannis Antetokounmpo provided the death knell for Indiana after sinking a 16-foot jumper to beat the buzzer.

“This is all you can ask for. We were down double digits again in the fourth quarter and fought back to tie it and were right there again,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said. “This journey is difficult, but important. We’ve all got to keep our eye on the ball, keep fighting and keep giving ourselves chances.”

Pascal Siakam collected 32 points and eight assists to lead the way for Indiana.

Isaiah Jackson added a season-high 21 points to go along with 10 rebounds as he continues to round into form after missing the majority of the 2024-25 season with an Achilles injury.

“He’s at the beginning stages of return-to-play,” Carlisle said of Jackson. “… It makes sense that he’s getting his legs under him. He’s getting his rhythm. He’s getting stronger, recognizing situations better and better, and he’s one of our fighters. So it’s heartening to see him continuing to trend in a great direction.”

–Field Level Media

Cade Cunningham gained his first All-Star selection last season. The Detroit Pistons guard appears well on his way to earning that distinction again with the way he’s playing early this season.

The Pistons are off to a 5-2 start, thanks to the production of their floor leader. Detroit will be seeking its fourth straight victory when it hosts the Utah Jazz on Wednesday.

Cunningham is averaging 28 points and 12 assists during the current streak. He posted a 30-point, 10-assist double-double against Orlando, then supplied 21 points and a career-high tying 18 assists against Dallas in Mexico City.

Cunningham delivered the knockout blows against Memphis on Monday, scoring 19 of his 33 points during the fourth quarter of a 114-106 victory.

“He’s a bad man, and that’s it,” head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “When it’s winning time, you got to have a guy like that on your team, and we are extremely fortunate to have him because there’s not a play that he can’t make. There’s the courage in his bones to take those shots, make those shots. Obviously, 19 points in the (fourth) quarter closed the game out for us, separated the game for us down the stretch. I can’t repeat it. You watched it. You saw how spectacular he was (Monday).”

He got plenty of assistance from Isaiah Stewart, who was inserted into the starting lineup with Tobias Harris sidelined by an ankle injury. Stewart erupted for 26 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks.

“It’s his heart, it’s his courage, it’s his determination, it’s his grit. His love for the Detroit Pistons, the city of Detroit,” Bickerstaff said. “He plays for them. He plays for his teammates, and he was undeniable (Monday).”

The Jazz have won four of the last five meetings against Detroit. Utah snapped a three-game losing streak on Monday, as Jusuf Nurkic’s last-second putback gave it a 105-103 win over Boston.

“So many guys I feel like played well and had big moments,” coach Will Hardy said. “It’s a great team win for us. That’s who we have to be. We’re going to have to win ugly. We’re going to have to win close. We’re going to have to have a lot of people have moments in the game for us to win.”

The Jazz are in the midst of a five-game road swing. In the first two legs of the trip, they lost to Phoenix 118-96 and Charlotte 126-103.

“I think all of us took pride (vs. Boston),” Utah guard Keyonte George said. “We all realize we’re all young, and there’s no reason why our energy level should be as low as it was last game. We felt like we just shot ourselves in the foot (at Charlotte).

“The good thing about the NBA is you get another chance either the next day or two days. We kind of just took the opportunity, and, you know, I talk about respecting the game. We actually respected the game.”

George scored a team-high 31 points against the Celtics, the first time in six games that Lauri Markkanen didn’t lead the club in scoring. Markkanen is averaging 31.1 points per game.

–Field Level Media

Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer has been added to a lawsuit that contends the defendants committed fraud by using a sustainability company to pay star Kawhi Leonard off the official NBA books.

The initial suit was filed in July, with the tech billionaire Ballmer added on Monday, Front Office Sports reported.

Eleven former investors of the company, then called Aspiration Partners, contend Ballmer used the business to bypass the league salary cap by channeling millions earmarked for Leonard through Aspiration’s bank accounts.

As a result, Ballmer and Aspiration founders committed fraud and aided and abetted in a fraud that negatively impacted the investors, the plaintiffs contend.

It was reported in September that Ballmer allegedly worked with company co-founder Joseph Sanberg to arrange a $50 million investment in Aspiration in 2021.

Aspiration went bankrupt and later was renamed Catona Climate Solutions. Front Office Sports reported that Ballmer’s investment was a “motivating factor in the plaintiffs either choosing to invest or keeping their investments in Catona,” according to the lawsuit.

“Plaintiffs would not have invested and/or kept their investment in Catona if Ballmer and Sanberg had disclosed the true nature of Ballmer’s investment,” per the revised lawsuit. “Absent Ballmer’s support, Catona could not have sustained the frauds set forth herein.”

According to a document obtained by ESPN contributor Pablo Torre and reportedly signed by Leonard, the six-time NBA All-Star was to receive $28 million in cash from Aspiration over the course of four years between 2022 and 2025, as long as he was playing for the Clippers.

Aspiration was to pay Leonard the millions for a “no-show” job.

Ballmer told ESPN in September that he was the victim of a fraudulent act and didn’t perpetrate one.

“These were guys who committed fraud,” Ballmer said in an interview following the accusations. “Look, they conned me. They conned me. I made an investment in these guys thinking it was on the up-and-up, and they conned me at this stage. I have no ability to predict why they might have done anything they did, let alone the specific contract with Kawhi.”

The NBA is conducting an investigation into the matter.

The current collective bargaining agreement allows for a fine of up to $4.5 million for a first offense of circumventing the salary cap, the forfeiture of one first-round draft pick, and/or the voiding of any contracts or transactions that violated league rules.

Leonard originally signed with the Clippers in 2019 before agreeing to a three-year contract extension worth around $150 million in early 2024.

The 34-year-old won the NBA Finals MVP award both times he earned NBA championship titles (2014 with the San Antonio Spurs, 2019 with the Toronto Raptors). He also has two NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards to his name.

He missed the 2021-22 campaign following knee surgery and has been limited in each of the past three seasons due to ongoing knee issues. He averaged 21.5 points and 5.9 rebounds in just 37 games last season.

In six games this season, he is averaging 24.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game.

In his 14th season, the six-time All-Star has averaged 20.1 points and 6.4 rebounds in 739 games with the Spurs, Raptors and Clippers.

–Field Level Media

The Sacramento Kings are signing free agent big man Precious Achiuwa, ESPN reported on Tuesday.

Achiuwa, 26, averaged 6.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 20.5 minutes in 57 games (10 starts) last season with the New York Knicks.

He has career averages of 7.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 20.0 minutes in 320 games (72 starts) with the Miami Heat (2020-21), Toronto Raptors (2021-23) and Knicks (2024-25).

The Heat selected him with the 20th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft out of Memphis.

Sacramento is expected to waive forward Isaac Jones to create a roster spot for Achiuwa, ESPN reported. Jones, 25, has played in three games (one start) this season and has totaled three points, two rebounds and one assist in 17 minutes. He played in 40 games last season and averaged 3.4 points, 1.4 rebounds and 7.6 minutes per contest.

The Kings are off to a 2-5 start heading into Wednesday’s home game against the Golden State Warriors.

–Field Level Media