Tim Hardaway Jr. had 39 points and Trey Burke added 15 points off the bench to lead the Knicks, who lost their second consecutive game.
After New York went ahead 82-77 with 1:36 left in the third quarter on a Hardaway basket, the Wolves went on a 10-0 run to regain control, and they led by as much as 11 in the second half. The Knicks cut the lead to four on two Hardaway free throws with under two minutes left, but Towns hit a free throw and Jeff Teague added two more for some cushion.
Minnesota, which has won two straight after losing two straight, got off to a great early start, taking a 31-22 lead after one quarter and leading 57-48 at halftime. The Wolves shot 51 percent from the field in the first half and 43 percent from 3-point range. Minnesota finished the game shooting 47 percent from the field and outrebounded the Knicks 45-42.
Hardaway had 12 points in the first half to lead the Knicks, who shot 41 percent from the field.
Hardaway, who had 47 combined points in two recent wins over Charlotte and Chicago but slipped to 12 points in a Wednesday loss in Miami, finished the game 14-of-25 shooting.
Taj Gibson had 18 points for the Wolves, and Nemanja Bjelica had 17 on 6-for-8 shooting.
Enes Kanter had 11 points and 15 rebounds for the Knicks, and Frank Ntilikina had 13 points off the bench.
Minnesota has a quick turnaround, heading straight to Philadelphia on Saturday for a matchup before returning home on Monday to play Memphis.
New York heads on the road for a three-game trip, beginning at Washington on Sunday.
--Field Level Media
Minnesota | New York | |
Karl-Anthony Towns 24 | Scoring | Tim Hardaway Jr. 39 |
Jeff Teague 8 | Assists | Trey Burke 9 |
Karl-Anthony Towns 13 | Rebounds | Enes Kanter 15 |
Taj Gibson 8 | Free Throws Made | Tim Hardaway Jr. 5 |
Nemanja Bjelica 2 | Steals | Troy Williams 3 |
Karl-Anthony Towns 3 | Blocks | N/A |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Minnesota | 108 | 46.7 | 10-26 | 28-32 | 23 | 45 | 6 | 6 | 15 |
New York | 104 | 43.5 | 12-28 | 12-17 | 25 | 42 | 0 | 9 | 11 |