Wolves overcome Randle’s 57 points, beat Knicks 140-134

NEW YORK (AP) — Julius Randle scored 57 pointsto tie the third-highest game in Knicks history, but the MinnesotaTimberwolves rode a sizzling start and a steady finish to beat NewYork 140-134 on Monday night.

Taurean Prince scored a season-high 35 points and went 8 for 8from 3-point range for the Timberwolves, while Mike Conley added 24points and 11 assists. His three free throws gave Minnesota thelead for good with 2:17 remaining.

Randle’s final basket, a three-point play with 42 secondsremaining, cut it to 137-134, but he was beaten to a rebound byKyle Anderson on Minnesota’s next possession, and a cutting Princescored inside with 10.1 seconds left before Conley made a freethrow after Randle was called for a technical foul.

In a spectacular display of shooting and scoring, theTimberwolves made more than 70% of their shots in the first halfand led by 17, before Randle carried the Knicks back with afranchise-record 26 points in the third quarter.

He finished tied with Richie Guerin behind the only two 60-pointgames in Knicks history, Carmelo Anthony’s 62 on Jan. 24, 2014, andBernard King’s 60 on Christmas Day in 1984. But the Knicks hadtheir three-game winning streak snapped.

The All-Star forward threw down a powerful driving dunk in thefirst quarter but did most of his damage from much farther away.Randle made eight 3-pointers in surpassing his previous career highof 46 points.

The Wolves made their first 10 shots in the most sizzling startby an NBA team this season and didn’t cool off much the rest of thegame, finishing at 61.4% despite playing without Anthony Edwardsfor a second straight game because of a sprained right ankle.

Rudy Gobert’s basket made the Wolves the first team this seasonto make its first 10 shots, and Knicks fans loudly cheered whenJaden McDaniels missed Minnesota’s next attempt, nearly sevenminutes into the game. The Wolves led 42-32 after one, shooting 16for 22 (72.7%).

Prince’s 3-pointer made it 70-53 with 4:35 left in the firsthalf, but the Knicks finally put together some stops to cut it to79-70 at the break.

Then Randle came back and went 9 for 10 in the third, hitting 5for 6 beyond the arc. He raised his hand to fault himself after theone miss, an ill-advised attempt that missed the rim by a couplefeet. But he could hardly be blamed for trying the way almosteverything else he threw up was going in.

TIP-INS

Timberwolves: Coach Chris Finch said Karl-Anthony Towns was“really, really close” to returning from his calf injury.

Knicks: Swingman Josh Hart arrived for the game wearing the No.32 jersey of his great uncle, Yankees great Elston Howard.

EDWARDS UPDATE

Finch said Edwards hadn’t done anything besides get treatmentthus far, but the Wolves didn’t rule him out until Monday,indicating his injury isn’t as bad as originally feared. “For surethere’s some relief,” Finch said. “But you know Ant, like Antalways wants to play. He never thinks he’s hurt, so hopefully it isfeeling better, which he says it is. But in terms of paintolerance, range of movement, stability, all those things, I thinkwe’re trying to figure out where that really is with him.”

NEW COACH, FAMILIAR FACE

Former Knicks coach Rick Pitino will be back on the sidelines atMadison Square Garden for some St. John’s games after being hiredby the Red Storm on Monday. The school announced he’d be introducedduring a news conference Tuesday at the arena.

“When I was a young coach, I used to watch his practices atProvidence,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “So he’s good man,great coach and I know he’ll do a great job with St. John’s.”

UP NEXT

Timberwolves: Host Atlanta on Wednesday.

Knicks: At Miami on Wednesday.