The Knicks had been building some valuable momentum as they reached the midway point of the season, heading into the new week with a three-game winning streak, while taking five of their last six games.
But so far, the home stand has been a flop, as New York's struggles at home have returned with a lopsided loss to the Hornets on Monday before falling to a healthy Timberwolves team on Tuesday night.
It was yet another crushing loss for the Knicks, who battled back from a double-digit deficit before coming apart on the offensive end down the stretch and conceding a late and-one layup to Karl-Anthony Towns to give Minnesota the victory.
"That's a tough loss, especially as the guy that missed the game-tying shot, those are the type of games that keep you up at night," Evan Fournier said. "You kind of feel like s--t in the morning afterwards. But that's the league we're in."
In an all-too familiar sight, the Knicks dug themselves an early hole, missed key free throws, and couldn't finish off a comeback bid at home. The offense committed 18 turnovers, with RJ Barrett committing seven of them in a poor offensive showing after a very strong stretch of play of late.
"We have to see what we did well, because we did not start well, sharing the ball, playing smart and making plays for each other," Fournier said. "We had a great third quarter and did some good things. We have to look at that and move forward because we have to bounce back, but for sure, it's very frustrating."
The Knicks are desperately fighting to pull their way up into the top six spots in the Eastern Conferences, but losses like Tuesday have continuously set them back. Now, they'll have to regroup and take care of business against the Pelicans before a four-game gauntlet that includes the Clippers, Cavaliers, Heat and Bucks over the next week.
"We've got to keep grinding it out," Kemba Walker said. "It's hard to win games in this league, super hard, no matter who you're playing. We've got to come out and be ready, from the very beginning."
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