New York Knicks Takeaways From Win vs. Minnesota Timberwolves

Dec 13, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) reacts against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Suns defeated the Timberwolves 108-101. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Matchup Of The Game Recap

In our keys to the game, we highlighted the matchup between top picks in the 2015 NBA Draft; No.1 overall pick Karl-Anthony Towns and No.4 overall Kristaps Porzingis. Both players have bright futures in the NBA, and tonight they showcased just how bright they can be.

Towns led the way for the Timberwolves offensively, showcasing an array of moves on that end of the court. He shot an efficient 11-of-21 from the field for 25 points, including 2-of-4 from deep. He also pulled down 10 rebounds to give him 11 double-doubles on the season.

While Porzingis didn’t have as strong a game offensively as Towns did, scoring only 11 points on 4-of-14 from the field, he still impacted the game in other ways. He added six rebounds and three assists, but the impressive number is his block total. He blocked seven shots tonight, the second time he has reached that number this season.

It is nice to see Porzingis have an impact even when his shot isn’t falling, as too many people let their offense dictate their effort in other facets of the game. Porzingis does not do that as he can help out in other ways than scoring the ball.

This was the first of hopefully many matchups between the top picks from this past year’s draft. Hopefully the rest can be as entertaining as they were tonight, as the two went at each other for parts of the night and showcased the talents that landed them both in the top four of the 2015 NBA Draft.

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