Timberwolves 95, Knicks 92 (OT): Kevin Martin scored 22 points and Gorgui Dieng added 19 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks as visiting Minnesota beat New York to climb out of the NBA cellar.
Zach LaVine scored six of his 20 points in overtime, including four free throws in the final 10.7 seconds, for the Timberwolves, who had only eight available players for the second straight game. Andrew Wiggins also scored 20 points and Chase Budinger added 10 and four steals as Minnesota snapped a six-game losing streak and a seven-game road skid.
Langston Galloway scored 21 points and Alexey Shved added 20 and six assists for the Knicks. Andrea Bargnani contributed 14 points and Shane Larkin had 10 off the bench.
Wiggins gave the Timberwolves an 85-83 lead with a minute left in regulation, but Shved hit a pair of free throws with 7.3 seconds left and Martin missed at the buzzer to send it to overtime. Galloway's 3-pointer put the Knicks ahead 92-90 with 1:42 left in the extra period, but New York missed its final four shots and LaVine's free throws down the stretch sealed it.
LaVine's three-point play capped a 9-0 run early in the second quarter that put Minnesota ahead 40-30 and Wiggins hit four straight free throws in the final 1:14 of the half to make it 54-46 at the break. The Timberwolves went 7-for-20 from the field while being outscored 23-15 in third quarter as New York erased an eight-point halftime deficit and briefly took the lead before Martin's jumper tied it at 69 entering the fourth.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Timberwolves signed G Sean Kilpatrick to a 10-day contract before the game, and the New York native drove in from his D-League assignment in Delaware to make his NBA debut. He was scoreless in 10 minutes. … Minnesota was without PG Ricky Rubio (ankle), SG Gary Neal (ankle), PF Anthony Bennett (ankle) and centers Kevin Garnett (knee), Nikola Pekovic (ankle) and Justin Hamilton (migraines). … Minnesota swept two games against New York this season, winning the season series for the first time since 2006-07.
Minnesota | New York | |
Kevin Martin 22 | Scoring | Langston Galloway 21 |
Zach Lavine 4 | Assists | Alexey Shved 6 |
Gorgui Dieng 11 | Rebounds | Lou Amundson 9 |
Andrew Wiggins 12 | Free Throws Made | Alexey Shved 6 |
Chase Budinger 4 | Steals | Langston Galloway 2 |
Gorgui Dieng 6 | Blocks | Cole Aldrich 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Minnesota | 95 | 41.0 | 2-12 | 25-30 | 12 | 43 | 8 | 10 | 16 |
New York | 92 | 41.2 | 4-20 | 8-10 | 22 | 49 | 5 | 9 | 16 |