Shorthanded Knicks fall to T-Wolves without Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby; Julius Randle erupts in 4th.
Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle, right, shoots the ball over Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, in Minneapolis. Credit: AP/Matt Krohn
MINNEAPOLIS — It was and always will be a homecoming for Karl-Anthony Towns when he returns here, and his affection for the city was reciprocated at the start of the night as he received a warm ovation from the crowd.
But in the end, the crowd belonged to one of the players the Knicks traded away to bring him to New York as Julius Randle took over the game in the fourth quarter, carrying the Timberwolves to a 115-104 win over the shorthanded Knicks.
Towns did his part, scoring a season-high 40 points. But with the Knicks missing Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby, who remained in New York to rest and rehabilitate minor bumps and bruises, there just wasn’t enough help for Towns to counter the Timberwolves.
“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. Some of us have kids and family, so we [will] take this time to decompress before we see our families on Christmas Eve and get ready for the next one.”
Randle scored 17 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, muscling his way to the rim repeatedly and flexing to the delight of the crowd. Add in Anthony Edwards, who led the Timberwolves with 38 points and it was a lost night for the Knicks.
Towns fouled out with 34.9 seconds left and before he left the floor, went over to offer the player he calls his little brother, Edwards, a hug, and received an ovation from the Target Center crowd, just as he had when he was introduced pregame.
“It’s always good to be appreciated,” Towns said. “There’s nothing more valuable in this league, this job, than to be respected. I left my heart, my soul here in Minnesota. For the fans to just, even after two seasons away, to respect me the way they do and to think of me so highly and to appreciate what I left on the court tonight, it means a lot. It means really a lot.”
Tyler Kolek, starting in place of Brunson, had a career-high 20 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists and Josh Hart added 12 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists. But without 40% of their starting five, the Knicks just couldn’t pull this off.
The Knicks were hanging in, even battling back from a 16-point hole to take the lead in the third quarter. But in the fourth quarter Randle got hot, scoring 15 consecutive points.
“He was just aggressive,” Mike Brown said. “He was just taking it right to us. We started blitzing 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. He’s a really good player,”
Just minutes into the game, Towns misfired on a three, air-balled a drive trying to draw a foul, turned the ball over on an errant pass and committed a foul. But just as he started slowly last season in his return and took over, finishing with 32 points and 20 rebounds, he quickly turned things around.
Towns, who had just two points and shot 1-for-5 Sunday, had 14 points in the first quarter and at halftime he was up to 24 points and 9-for-13 shooting
With the missing pieces, the Knicks tried to make do with unlikely combinations — such as Tyler Kolek, Mo Diawara, Ariel Hukporti, Mitchell Robinson and Josh Hart in the second quarter — and then subbing Pacome Dadiet into the game.
The Knicks trailed by as many as 16 in the second quarter, but fought back to close within one, 53-52, on a Jordan Clarkson three-point field goal. But DiVincenzo drained a three-pointer and when Dadiet misfired on a three, DiVincenzo raced the ball up the floor, missing a layup, but Rudy Gobert slammed in the follow and Minnesota led at the half 58-52.
Down 66-54, the Knicks scored eight straight aided by Towns drawing a foul on Gobert and draining three free throws and Kolek following with a three on a Robinson offensive rebound. Towns then hit a three to push his total to 30 and pull New York within 67-65. Ariel Hukporti then tied it up on a feed from Towns.
But the Timberwolves led 80-76 when Gobert missed in the paint and as they battled for a rebound, Gobert swung at the ball and Hart hit the floor — shoving at Gobert’s leg as Gobert headed up the floor. He got to his feet and shoved Gobert in the chest and after a review, Hart was called for a flagrant foul for the grab at the leg. Gobert hit both free throws, but Diawara connected from three. Jaylen Clark converted a three at the buzzer to push the deficit to 85-79 entering the fourth quarter.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
