New York Knicks’ Kristaps Porzingis, left, shoots over Minnesota Timberwolves’ Karl-Anthony Towns as he lays up during the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2016, in Minneapolis. The Knicks won 106-104. AP
MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota—Kristaps Porzingis and Karl-Anthony Towns are building a tantalizing rivalry for the NBA’s new age.
Carmelo Anthony let the kids have their fun until it was time to go home.
Porzingis had 29 points and eight rebounds and Towns had 47 points and 18 boards, but Anthony hit the winning jumper with 2.3 seconds left, lifting the New York Knicks to a 106-104 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night.
“I mean the sky’s the limit for those two guys in this league,” said Antony, who had just 12 points on 4-for-15 shooting before splashing the winner over Andrew Wiggins’ outstretched hand. “With Towns, the way he’s playing, Kristaps getting better and better each day, they’ll be around for a long time and, you know, they’ll be the face of this league in a couple years.”
The 21-year-old Towns is the third-youngest player in the last three decades to have at least 45 points and 15 rebounds in a game.
The Wolves used a 20-3 run to tie it at 102 with under a minute to play, but Porzingis threw Gorgui Dieng aside for a putback slam and Anthony tipped the inbounds pass on Minnesota’s final possession to thwart the comeback.
“I think it was a good show for everybody,” Porzingis said. “But the most important is we got the win.”
Brandon Jennings scored 12 points off the bench and Porzingis had a big block against his friend and draft classmate Towns to help the Knicks weather the loss of Joakim Noah, who sat out with a sprained left ankle. New York made 13 3-pointers to Minnesota’s four.
After the Timberwolves lost to Utah on Monday, a despondent Towns vowed to do more to help his team win. He came out a man on fire, scoring 22 points on 8-for-8 shooting and grabbing seven rebounds in the first quarter.
“I’m so proud of all of my teammates,” said Towns, whose Wolves fell to 5-13. “The fight that we have every time we’re down to comeback and find a way to put ourselves back in a game is the reason why I think so many find the potential in us to be great.”