Karl-Anthony Towns speaks out in return as the Knicks blow out the Wolves

Timberwolves fans gave Karl-Anthony Towns a warm welcome back to the Target Center in Minneapolis on Thursday night, giving him a loud round of applause after a tribute video played during the New York Knicks’ pregame introductions.

The love for Towns was so strong among the sold-out Target Center crowd that they even cheered when he made his first 3-pointer of the game in the first quarter. But the mood began to sour among the Wolves faithful after a terrible start to the second quarter from the local basketball franchise. The boos were all aimed at the Wolves, but there was likely a sense of dread every time Towns touched the ball as he torched Minnesota and set New York up for a 133-107 blowout.

Towns put on a show in the arena where he spent the first nine seasons of his career. Towns capped a 26-2 Knicks run to open the second quarter, drilling a shot from 3-point range before getting to the paint for a layup on the next possession, fouling out and hitting the ensuing free throw Towns scored 19 points in the second quarter alone, and the Knicks (17-10) outscored the Wolves (14-12) 41-18 in the quarter overall to take a 73-51 halftime lead.

The game was pretty much over at that point, though Towns continued to do his thing. Towns nearly finished with a triple-double, with 32 points, 20 rebounds, six assists and a pair of steals. He had a plus-minus of plus-31 in 38 minutes.

Towns shot a torrid 10 for 12 from the field, including 5 of 5 from 3-point range.

Towns got plenty of help from Mikal Bridges, who finished with 29 points, six assists and six rebounds.

The dynamic duo had played so well for the Knicks that Wolves coach Chris Finch emptied his bench with 10 minutes, 34 seconds left in the fourth quarter. If anything, he probably could have returned there even sooner.

It wasn’t all bad from the start for Minnesota. Julius Randle was clearly motivated against his former team as he poured in 15 points in the first quarter to lead the Wolves to a 33-32 lead after 12 minutes. Randle finished with 24 points on 8-for-17 shooting, five boards and three assists, but when he subbed after a hot first quarter, things fell apart for the Wolves.

The lineup of Donte DiVincenzo, Rudy Gobert, Jaden McDaniels, Rob Dillingham and Nickeil Alexander-Walker got off to a rough start in the second quarter. When Finch sought out Mike Conley to try and fix things, it didn’t help. Both Gobert and Conley finished with just three points each. Anthony Edwards had 17 points on 7-for-16 shooting.

There just wasn’t much work for the wolves. There was plenty of work for the Knicks and Towns, who looked motivated from the opening tip and made a statement when he returned to Target Center Thursday night.