Karl-Anthony Towns couldn’t have drawn up a much better return to Minnesota, as the former Timberwolves star went off for 32 points on 10-12 shooting while draining all five of his 3-point attempts and logging 20 rebounds.
Most importantly, the Knicks cruised to an easy 133-107 win against former teammates Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, and the victory furthered Gio’s confidence that New York has everything it needs on its roster to make a title run.
“There’s nothing about the Knicks that scares me outside of health at this point,” Gio said. “They’ll be a better defensive team by the playoffs, and they’re gonna score points. It’s just staying healthy.
“Any fears that Knicks fans had that [Towns] was gonna come in here and change the attitude of the team…we’ve seen none of that so far.
It’s a great thing.”
Health became a major factor during last year’s playoff run, as OG Anunoby, Julius Randle, Jalen Brunson, Bojan Bogdanovich, and Josh Hart were all injured by the time they were bounced in game seven of the conference semifinals. So far, the team has been healthy, and the trade for Towns has looked like a home run.
“Legitimately, Karl-Anthony Towns could be in the MVP conversation,” Boomer said. “He’s ridiculous. Last night, he didn’t miss a 3-point attempt.
“He and OG and Brunson are supposed to be difference makers, and all three are.”