Perhaps Thursday night’s atmosphere won’t resemble the same “I’m Coming Home” type vibe New York Knicks fans witnessed when Carmelo Anthony initially stepped onto the Big Apple hoops scene. Then again, it’s not like the Minnesota Timberwolves feature a rich history of all-time organizational greats.
Dec. 19, 2024: Matchup
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Karl-Anthony Towns makes his anticipated return to Minnesota Thursday night when his Knicks take on the T-Wolves from the Target Center, and fans of both squads don’t exactly know what to expect.
Game and TV details, how to watch
- New York Knicks (16-10)
- Minnesota Timberwolves (14-11)
- NBA, Dec. 19, 2024, 9:30 p.m. ET
- Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
- TV Broadcasts: TNT, MSG Networks
The good folks at TNT are broadcasting the Karl-Anthony Towns homecoming, which means Knicks fans will be more closely treated to the silliness of “Inside the NBA” in their final season (before TNT loses broadcasting rights).
As per usual—when TNT or ESPN has the game’s cable broadcast—MSG Networks will also carry the game (which is obviously not the same when a network channel carries it). Whether or not Mike Breen is the play-by-play man alongside Walt “Clyde” Frazier remains to be seen. Since it’s TNT—and not ESPN—there’s a solid chance Breen will be calling it.
The Knicks and T-Wolves will tip off at 9:30 p.m. ET on Thursday from the Twin Cities.
KAT’s Twin Cities homecoming
Karl-Anthony Towns is going home. Well … sort of.
Towns, 29, may have played the first nine years of his NBA career in Minnesota, but the dude is Jersey-born, after all. Ok, so the Edison-Piscataway area isn’t exactly Northern New Jersey, but it’s also not South Jersey—which, for all intents and purposes, is much more akin to Philadelphia, PA.
In short, KAT is a near-hometown kid for the Knickerbockers.
Drafted No. 1 overall in the 2015 NBA draft out of Kentucky, Towns is expected to be met with mixed greetings from the T-Wolves faithful. Remember, these are fans of an extremely young organization (founded in 1989).
Malik Sealy is the only man whose number (2) has been retired by the franchise, and it was instantaneously done so due to his untimely and tragic death in May of 2000 after a drunk driver killed him in a car accident. Although it’s not expected that Minnesota will ever retire KAT’s number, he’s mostly fondly remembered for his consistent tenure.
Towns enters the game as the Knicks second-leading scorer (24.8 points per game) and leading rebounder (13.9 per game).
What about Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo?
Let’s not forget about the other Thursday night reunion, the one that could create even louder fireworks. The KAT homecoming game also sees Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo take on their former team for the first time since being traded to the T-Wolves before the season (October 2024).
Randle, 30, enjoyed a career bust-out in Tom Thibodeau’s first season as Knicks coach (2020-21). Playing as the 1B to Jalen Brunson’s 1A, Leon Rose and company could not get around the idea that Randle didn’t quite fit the championship vision—in how the pieces fit.
This year, Randle is averaging 20.1 points on an excellent .483 shooting from the floor.
Meanwhile, Donte DiVincenzo, who many fans argued was the heart and soul of the Knicks’ playoff run last year, has seen his productivity dip significantly this season. Scoring just 8.3 points per game on a rough-looking .353 FG%, DiVincenzo hasn’t been the best fit in Minny.
Injury report
- Knicks: Mitchell Robinson: Out (Ankle), Ariel Hukporti: Questionable (Ankle)
- Timberwolves: Joe Ingles: Questionable (Soleus)
Of course, Knicks big Mitchell Robinson remains out while rehabbing his offseason ankle surgery. However, another big in Ariel Hukporti is officially listed as questionable with an ankle injury.
For Minnesota, Joe Ingles is also listed as questionable with a soleus designation.
Odds and game lines
- Knicks +2.5 at Timberwolves
- Timberwolves -2.5 vs. Knicks
- Knicks +110 moneyline at Timberwolves
- Timberwolves -135 moneyline vs. Knicks
- Knicks at Timerwolves 214.5 over-under point total
The Knicks are currently 2 or 2.5-point road underdogs against the Timberwolves, per multiple sportsbooks.
At most sportsbooks, New York’s moneyline is sitting right around +110, whereas Minnesota’s is at -135.
Pregame news and transactions
Just a day after recalling Pacome Dadiet, Tyler Kolek and Matt Ryan from Westchester, and two days after demoting Kolek and Ryan to the very same Westchester Knicks (most likely to get some extra shots up), the big squad polished off its week of transactions on Wednesday.
According to the Knicks PR X (formerly Twitter) account, the Knicks sent Dadiet and Hukporto back to the G League.
At the end of the day, Dadiet and Hukporti are in the G League, whereas Kolek and Ryan remain with the Knickerbockers.
With the four-day game-less layoff almost completed, the 16-10 Knicks seek a victory to make sure they keep pace at the top of the east. They remain 6.5 games behind the east-leading Cleveland Cavaliers, 5.0 back of the Boston Celtics, and essentially even with the Orlando Magic (17-11) for third place in the conference.
