Karl-Anthony Towns has a monster game in his return to Minnesota as Knicks win by 26

Mikal Bridges had his best game as a Knick. But he did it on the night that Karl-Anthony Towns returned to Minnesota for the first time since the trade, so he had to take a back seat. Towns was tremendous and the Knicks played a masterful game from start to finish, resulting in a 133-107 victory Thursday night. It was New York’s seventh win in its last nine games and upped their season’s record to 17-10.

The Timberwolves played a very nice tribute video to Towns, who was visibly moved by both that and the warm reception he received from the crowd. Towns let the game come to him and he scored just three points in the first quarter. And in addition to that, he sat most of the fourth quarter. And he finished with 32 points, 22 rebounds and 6 assists.

It was just an incredible shooting night for Towns. He finished 10-12 from the floor, including a perfect 5-5 from behind the arc. And it was also his second straight 20-20 performance, the first Knick to do that since Bob McAdoo in 1978.

It was a great display of basketball by both teams in the first quarter. Each team shot 54.5% from the floor, while the Knicks wet 6-9 from 3-point land and the Timberwolves went 7-13 from behind the arc. Minnesota ended the first with a 33-32 lead.

The Knicks kept things going in the second quarter, playing great on both offense and defense. They opened up the quarter with a 26-3 run, extending to a 58-35 lead. And the majority of that came with Jalen Brunson on the bench.

We’ve seen this type of offense from the Knicks before this season. But this was perhaps the best defensive effort of the year. Julius Randle got off to a hot start, scoring 13 of Minnesota’s first 21 points. But he slowed down after that, in no small part because of the defense of OG Anunoby, who did not start out guarding Randle.

Josh Hart did not play in this game, sitting out due to personal reasons. That meant Precious Achiuwa got his first start of the year. While Randle got off to the hot start against him, it was still a good game for Achiuwa. In 28 minutes, he scored 13 points – despite being the fifth option – and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Speaking of rebounds, with a bigger team on the floor, the Knicks out-rebounded the Timberwolves by 20, 57-37.

And the passing! The Knicks had 39 assists on 50 made baskets. It’s just beautiful offensive basketball.

Now back to Bridges. In the first half he had 16 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Bridges finished the game with 29/6/6. But it was much more than offense, as he played a major role in keeping Timberwolves’ star Anthony Edwards in check. Bridges finished the game with a team-high +35 in 36 minutes. This is the guy the Knicks traded all of those draft picks for and if he plays like this, many more good days are in store.

Four-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert had the exact opposite type of game from Bridges. He struggled mightily trying to guard Towns and finished with a -37 in 22 minutes.

The game was so in hand that Tom Thibodeau pulled his stars with 9:11 remaining in the game and the Knicks up by 32. He was even seen smiling big with Towns on the sideline.

Just a great night all around for the Knicks and their fans.