The last game of a road trip in the NBA is always a difficult one. The New York Knicks reaffirmed that fact on Monday night when they faced off against the Minnesota Timberwolves. It was the final stop on a nine-day, five-game road trip and the Knicks looked like a team that was running on fumes.
After a competitive first half, in which Minnesota led 58-56 going into halftime, New York had their doors blown off in the third quarter. The Timberwolves blitzed them early, winning the quarter 35-16, and never looked back.
There is certainly no shame in losing to this Timberwolves team. They are now 10-3 on the season and a perfect 6-0 at home. They also own the No. 1 rated defense in the NBA, making life difficult for the Knicks all evening with their length.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Julius Randle, Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo, Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks Updates
The Knicks shot only 34.8 percent from the field and 23.7 percent on 3-pointers. Mitchell Robinson, who shot 5-of-7 and Jericho Sims, who was 1-for-1, are the only players to shoot above 50 percent in the game.
From 3-point range, Jalen Brunson and RJ Barrett were the only players to find a groove, shooting 3-of-6 and 3-of-4 respectively. The rest of the team shot 3-for-28 combined, as the ugly jump shooting numbers were their demise.
Julius Randle has been getting back on track in recent games, but he shot only 1-of-6 from distance against the Timberwolves. Donte DiVincenzo, coming off the best shooting game of his career with seven 3-pointers and 25 points, shot only 1-of-6 from 3-point range and scored seven points.
The poor shooting numbers also led to the team’s historic run from behind the 3-point line coming to an end. Coming into the game, the Knicks had made 15+ 3-pointers in six straight games, doubling the previous high of three.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Julius Randle, Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo, Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks Updates
It is no surprise that during that stretch, the Knicks found a ton of success. They went 5-1 in those games, with the only loss being to the Boston Celtics to start the road trip. When a team is shooting that well from behind the arc, they are going to be tough to beat.
Unfortunately, that streak came to a screeching halt against the Timberwolves on Monday night. The Knicks will have some time to gather themselves, as they don’t play again until Friday night against the Miami Heat in their first home game of the NBA In-Season Tournament.
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