Well, Heck; New York Knicks Road Trip Ends With Loss to Minnesota Timberwolves

An otherwise lucrative road trip ended in heartbreak, as a brutal third quarter doomed the New York Knicks against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

With Thanksgiving looming, the New York Knicks are probably grateful about the fact that they won't see the Minnesota Timberwolves again until New Year's Day. 

The Knicks were denied a no-rough-stuff-type deal in the finale of a five-game road trip in Minnesota, as they dropped a 117-100 decision to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night at Target Center. Anthony Edwards led the way for Minnesota with 23 points and 10 rebounds while Karl-Anthony Towns put up 20 more tallies.

New York (8-6) became the latest victims of Minnesota's suffocating defense, even with their hosts losing Jaden McDaniels to an ankle injury in the opening period. That wasn't the only area where the Timberwolves beat the Knicks at their own game, as their bench put up 43 points to the Knicks' 30. Half of the latter tally was earned by Immanuel Quickley while Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Naz Reid each earned double-figures for Minnesota's second unit. 

Josh Hart (3) guards Karl-Anthony Towns during Monday's loss in Minnesota / Jesse Johnson, USA TODAY SPORTS

As for the Knicks, Jalen Brunson put up a team-best 24 points on 7-of-15 shooting on an otherwise dismal night from the field (35.4 percent, including 9-of-38 from three-point range). Julius Randle (6-of-16) put up a 21-point, 14-rebound double-double but dished out only a single assist, putting up less than five for the first time in six games.

RJ Barrett was 4-of-13 from the field and lost four turnovers in his second game back from migraines. Quentin Grimes returned to the starting five after two games off for a wrist ailment but missed all six of his attempts taken exclusively from three-point range. Despite the issues, taking care of the ball over the first 24 (losing just three turnovers and forcing eight of their own) allowed the Knicks to trail by only two at halftime.

But after letting the Knicks linger in the first half, Minnesota (10-3) pulled away with a 35-19 advantage in the third frame. They needed just 96 seconds to establish a permanent lead, as they scored the first nine points of the frame before the Knicks were forced into a timeout. 

New York partly lingered despite the lead reaching as high as 22, as they were able to somewhat beautify the box score with 22 visits to the foul line in the second half. The third quarter, however, proved to be too much to overcome: even with the excess freebies, the Knicks never got closer than 12 the rest of the way, dooming them to losing bookends on the five-game trip that started in Boston on Nov. 13. 

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With the win, the Timberwolves not only remained undefeated at home but also tied a franchise-best mark with their 10th win in their opening 13 games (2001-02). They'll be in Manhattan for a matinee at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 1.

The Knicks will get to enjoy Thanksgiving in relative peace, as they have three days off before finally returning home to face the Miami Heat in an NBA In-Season Tournament showdown on Black Friday (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG/ESPN).