Published On: Thu, Nov 6th, 2025

Knicks pour in 83 second-half points to beat Timberwolves 137-114

The Knicks used an 83-point second half and a constricting defense to snuff out the Minnesota Timberwolves for a 135-114 win on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.

After an even first half, Jalen Brunson took over in the third, with 12 points, five rebounds and four assists, and OG Anunoby owned the start of the fourth quarter with eight fast points as the Knicks turned a two-point halftime deficit into a 15-point lead with seven minutes to play in the contest and put the game on ice from there.

Anunoby led the Knicks with 25 points on 10-for-17 shooting (3-for-5 from deep) with eight rebounds and a plus-14 in 32 minutes. Brunson finished with 23 points on 9-for-20 shooting, 10 assists, seven rebounds, and was a plus-16 in 33 minutes.

Julius Randle, in his second game back at MSG after the trade, led the Timberwolves with 32 points on 12-for-21 shooting with five rebounds, four assists, but was a minus-16 in 38 minutes.

New York improved to 5-0 at home to start the season, winning a third straight after three straight losses on the road. 

Here are the takeaways…

– On the night, New York was just faster to the basketball for all but the first few minutes of the game: out-rebounding the visitors 56-38, with a 31-14 edge in second-chance points, and a 62-40 edge in points in the paint. The Knicks had four starters in double figures and got 53 points from the bench, led by Josh Hart, pouring in 18 on 7-for-12 shooting (4-for-5 from three) with five rebounds, four assists for a plus-12 in 27 minutes. 

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 15 points with 10 rebounds, four assists, and two blocks in 31 minutes and was a plus-15. Mikal Brides had 13 points on 5-for-12 shooting with five assists and was a plus-13 in 33 minutes. In just 16 minutes, Mitchell Robinson had eight points (4-for-5 shooting) with 10 rebounds (nine offensive) with three blocks, and was a plus-7.

Anthony Edwards, back in the lineup after missing four games due to a hamstring injury, started slow with just five points (2-for-5) in the first half. He was blocked twice in the opening moments of the third as he didn’t look himself. He finished with 15 points on 5-for-13 shooting (3-for-7 from deep) and was a minus-25 in 29 minutes. Donte DiVincenzo, in his first game back since the trade, had spurts of good play and scored 21 points on 7-for-15 shooting (5-for-11 from deep) but was a minus-14 in 36 minutes.

– The Knicks' offense did not start smoothly, with four turnovers and 0-for-5 from the floor in the first four minutes. Mike Brown had seen enough, calling for time with his side down 13-4. Bridges finally got the Knicks’ first field goal with a three, which started a 10-2 run, including two run-outs, as the home side finally turned defense into offense. 

After an 0-for-6 start, the Knicks finished the quarter converting on 10 of 15, capped by Robinson scooping his fifth rebound (fourth offensive) and laying it in before the buzzer for a 28-26 lead.

Brunson made just 2 of 6 to start with four points and two turnovers, but added four assists and two rebounds. Hart knocked down his first two threes of the game and added a good assist to Guerschon Yabusele for a corner three. Anunoby added four first-quarter points on three attempts, but put on a defensive clinic with effort across the board.

Randle had his typical good first quarter, scoring 11 points on 4-for-7 shooting. And he added seven more in the second, to go along with three assists, two rebounds, and a block, and was plus-10 in 20 first-half minutes.

– A pair of emphatic Towns dunks – first over Rudy Gobert and then over Edwards – helped New York build an eight-point edge early in the second, but Minnesota's ball movement continued to be good and got them a pair of back-to-back open threes. But a 7-0 Knicks spurt built the lead up to nine, with Miles McBride scoring five of his first-half seven and Jordan Clarkson grabbing a dunk off a nice backdoor cut from a Towns feed. McBride finished with 14 points (6-for-10 shooting) with four assists and three boards and was a game-high plus-26 in 21 minutes. Clarkson finished with seven off the bench in 16 minutes.

But that lead was quickly erased by 14 unanswered points from Minnesota, with DiVincenzo connecting twice from three and Randle walking into an easy one as Towns left him wide open, forcing another Brown timeout. Brunson put a stop to it as the Knicks ran a good play for him to get a three, as they got back into things to level the score, but Randle scored four in the final half-minute to give Minnesota a 58-54 lead at the break.

New York was outrebounding the visitors 21-17 at the half, but Minnesota was 20-for-38 from the floor (52.6 percent) and 12-for-23 from deep (52.2 percent) compared to 21-for-46 (45.7 percent) and 8-for-18 (44.4 percent) for the home side.

– New York’s offense didn’t start clicking immediately after the break, but the defense began to tighten the screws, highlighted by a 13-2 run powered by a Towns block, Anunoby steal, Hart charge with Anunoby and Brunson each scoring five to match their largest lead of nine.

The Knicks finished the third with 40 points on 17-for-28 shooting (60.7 percent) as the Wolves went just 9-for-24 from the floor, building an eight-point lead. The hottest hand belonged to Brunson, who turned it on in the third, scoring 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting. Not to be overlooked, Robinson added three dunks, three rebounds, three blocks, and a steal in the third.

In the second half, the Knicks shot 60.7 percent (34-for-56) and held the visitors to 44.4 percent (20-for-45). As a unit, New York was 55-for-102 (53.9 percent) from the floor and 19-for-42 from three (45.2 percent).

Highlights

What's next

The Knicks have a few days off before they host the Nets on Sunday, with the tip set for 6 p.m.


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