The Knicks are still looking for their first preseason win after getting absolutely shelled by the Minnesota Timberwolves, 122-104, Monday night at Madison Square Garden. This one was rough, with New York just failing to find any footing, and here’s the kicker: every single player on their roster ended the game in minus territory. Seriously, every single one. That tells you everything you need to know about how this game went down.
Offensive Woes and Early Minute Caps
The offensive numbers are getting tough to look at for the Knicks, and that trend just kept rolling against the Timberwolves. They shot a disappointing 45.5 percent from the field and only 25 percent from three-point range. Ouch. Jalen Brunson tried to get things going, putting up 20 points on 6-of-13 shooting, but he was capped at 22 minutes, along with the rest of the starting five. OG Anunoby was right behind him with 15 points on 4-of-8 from the floor. Meanwhile, Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges for Minnesota combined for 20 points on 6-for-12. Josh Hart had a quiet night with just two points, though he did grab three rebounds, dish out three assists, and snag a steal, but also coughed up two turnovers. His lone made basket was the only time New York actually held a lead all night, way back in the first quarter. What’s that about?
Rebounding Disaster and the Search for Depth
Beyond the starters, the Knicks tossed a bunch of other guys extended minutes, clearly trying to see who might step up. Pacome Dadiet was one of the first up and he scored seven points in 14 minutes, going 2-for-3 from deep. That kind of efficiency and knocking down threes is a good sign for a young wing fighting for minutes, no doubt. Andre Drummond came in as the first sub for Towns at center, flashing some potential value as a backup following the loss of Mitchell Robinson, pulling down four rebounds and swatting away three blocks. But even with individual efforts, the team as a whole was absolutely hammered on the boards, getting outrebounded 39-28. And get this, no one on Minnesota even had more than five rebounds! How do you get that out-rebounded if no single opposing player dominates the boards? That’s a brutal stat. Even Tony Bradley, who made an impact entering the game in the final seven minutes with New York conceding, going a perfect 5-for-5 from the field and grabbing two boards, still finished with a minus-1 rating.
Edwards and McDaniels Just Went Off
On the flip side, the Timberwolves just came to play, led by an absolute show from Anthony Edwards. He dropped a game-high 26 points in only 25 minutes, and he was scorching hot from deep, draining 5-of-8 from beyond the arc. Jaden McDaniels wasn’t far behind him either, putting up 22 points on 8-of-12 from the field and an incredible 4-of-5 from three-point range. Minnesota, as a team, shot over 50 percent from both the floor and three-point range, though they did struggle a bit from the free-throw line (66.7 percent). And just to hammer home how dominant Edwards and McDaniels were: they alone combined to make more threes than the entire Knicks roster. That’s just wild. Ayo Dosunmu also had himself a great game, finishing with a plus-13 rating in just 20 minutes, even getting into a little dust-up with Anunoby after a foul resulted in a pair of hard falls.
What’s next for this Knicks squad? They have to shake this off quick because they play the second game of a back-to-back on Tuesday night. They’re heading north to Toronto to take on the Raptors at 7 p.m. Can they finally get that first preseason win under their belt and start turning this ship around? We’ll be watching to find out.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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