The Minnesota Timberwolves will visit the New York Knicks in a cross-conference matchup on Friday's NBA schedule. New York is 27-15 overall and 13-7 at home, while Minnesota is 21-19 overall and 11-10 on the road.
As a reminder, these teams exchanged superstars in the offseason with Julius Randle heading to Minneapolis and Karl-Anthony Towns moving to the Big Apple. The Timberwolves lost at home Wednesday night to the Golden State Warriors, 116-115. New York won in overtime Wednesday in Philadelphia, 125-119, over the 76ers.
Mike Conley will be back in the starting lineup for the Minnesota Timberwolves Friday night against the New York Knicks in place of Donte DiVincenzo, who is out with a left toe sprain, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch told reporters pregame.
Julius Randle appears to be on increasingly thin ice in Minnesota, not closing as many games, not endearing himself to the fans, and his albatross of a player option is threatening the Timberwolves’ ability to retain Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Naz Reid.
Donte DiVincenzo, once a fearless, hot 3-point shooter for the Knicks, as he converted a career-high 40 percent from deep during the 2023-24 campaign, no longer suits up for the blue and orange. Now, he's a member of the Timberwolves, which would make for a different type of gathering.
Former New York Knicks All-Star Julius Randle is gearing up to return to Madison Square Garden on Friday night. Randle’s Minnesota Timberwolves will take on the Knicks on the road.
This affiliate content is not influenced by our advertising relationships, but AP and Data Skrive might earn commissions from our partners’ links in this content.
Exactly a year prior to his long-awaited MSG return, the highest mark of Julius Randle’s tenure was taking shape.
There was no Villanova reunion. There was no anticipated spat with Rick Brunson to keep an eye on. Former fans didn’t have the chance to watch him play on the Garden floor during what has been a hot streak for the Delaware native.
Friday night marked Randle’s first game back at Madison Square Garden since the Knicks traded him and Donte DiVincenzo to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the three-team blockbuster that brought center Karl-Anthony Towns to New York.