NEW YORK -- Even as he struggled early on, it would have been hard to wipe the smile off rookie Karl-Anthony Towns' face.

The grins grew even wider for Towns as Sunday continued and his performance picked up.

Towns scored 22 of his 24 points after the first quarter during the Minnesota Timberwolves' 100-85 victory over the Brooklyn Nets in the building where he was the first overall pick.

"It was awesome," Towns said of playing in front of friends and family from New Jersey. "This is amazing. I love being home. I just love the vibe. Even the first half, I'm struggling to make shots. I'm still smiling because I'm seeing faces I saw when I was in grade school, I was in middle school. People who had faith in me but didn't think I could make it to this level and I'm looking at them and they're paying (for) tickets to watch me play.

"I was just ecstatic. It felt like I was at the park out here tonight, just having a blast, having fun no matter what happened."

Towns and the rest of the Timberwolves had plenty to be ecstatic about. While Towns began the game 1-for-5, Minnesota took a 10-point lead through the opening 12 minutes, closing out the period with a 16-6 run on baskets all within five feet of the hoop.

Then Towns got going, making nine of his final 14 shots, including a thunderous dunk late in the first half that had power forward Kevin Garnett leaping out of his seat. Towns scored nine more in the third when the Wolves built a 75-65 lead and added two late baskets once the Wolves officially grabbed control in the early stages of the fourth.

While Towns was ecstatic with his performance, others also helped Minnesota win consecutive games for the first time in over a month.

Towns said Gorgui Dieng was the team MVP and described the second-year forward as "Hakeem Olajuwon." Dieng scored half of his season-high 20 points in the opening quarter.

Point guard Ricky Rubio tied a season-high 15 assists, coming within two of the team record he set Nov. 1, 2014 against the Chicago Bulls. He likely would have more had the score been closer but the Timberwolves only needed him for 28 minutes on a day when they shot 47.5 percent (38-of-80) and had 29 assists.

Guards Andrew Wiggins and Kevin Martin added 16 points apiece as Minnesota followed up its win over Sacramento and strong second half from Wednesday in New York with a showing that made interim coach Sam Mitchell feel better on a day he was dealing with the flu.

"It was great," Mitchell said. "You've seen us have some big leads and then blow them after the half and I just thought our guys made a conscious effort in the second half. We're trying to build off of the last six quarters of basketball we've played."

"I think everything started in the second half in New York," Rubio said. "We were down by 20 and we changed our mentality. I would say the last six quarters before today were where this team wants to be and today was more of the same."

For the Nets there was hardly anything to be pleased with in their fifth straight loss.

Center Brook Lopez posted his ninth double-double, finishing with 20 and 12 rebounds for the Nets, but was the only starter to play well in Brooklyn's fifth straight loss. Guard Bojan Bogdanovic added 13, but guard Jarrett Jack along with forwards Thaddeus Young and Joe Johnson combined for only 22 points on 8-of-30 shooting.

"That was a very disappointing loss and the way we lost," Brooklyn coach Lionel Hollins said. "I take responsibility for us being out there and not being ready to go. Obviously they're young and quick and took advantage of that on us, but we have to be prepared and try to keep them in a box."

"It's just energy and effort," Lopez said. "I don't know what it was, but we don't look for excuses. They outplayed us."

NOTES: Sunday marked the first time Timberwolves F Kevin Garnett faced the Nets since last February's trade for F Thaddeus Young. The teams met March 16 in Minnesota but Garnett did not play. Garnett heard mostly cheers from the fans during pregame introductions. ... Garnett was six games into his NBA career when Minnesota rookie F Karl-Anthony Towns was born on Nov. 15, 1995, a day when Garnett scored 19 points against the San Antonio Spurs. ... Brooklyn G Shane Larkin missed his third straight game with a concussion and Donald Sloan has received the minutes allotted to Larkin, playing 12 minutes Wednesday, 24 on Friday and 20 Sunday. ... Minnesota rookie G Tyus Jones scored 30 points for Idaho of the NBA Developmental league against Santa Cruz. Jones is averaging 24.7 points and shooting 48 percent in six games for Idaho.