MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Carmelo Anthony had 30 points and 11 rebounds and the New York Knicks snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 103-95 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
Robin Lopez had 26 points and 16 rebounds to give interim coach Kurt Rambis his first victory since taking over for the fired Derek Fisher three games ago. The Knicks outrebounded Minnesota 51-31 and led by 24 points early in the fourth quarter for their first victory since Jan. 29 against Phoenix.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 24 points and eight rebounds, and Andrew Wiggins scored 24 points for the Timberwolves. Ricky Rubio had 16 assists, but they dropped their second straight out of the All-Star break after winning three of four going into it.
Shabazz Muhammad scored 20 for the Wolves, but Anthony's shot-making in the second half more than made up for an off night from Knicks star rookie Kristaps Porzingis, who had six points and four rebounds while battling foul trouble all night.
The Knicks were coming off one of their more disappointing efforts in a season that is fast filling up with them when they lost to the lowly Nets in Brooklyn.
The game was billed as a showdown between two of the best rookies in the league this season in Towns and Porzingis, long considered the front-runners for the rookie of the year award. Porzingis has surprised not with his talent, but with how quickly he has asserted himself as a force in the NBA. He captivated the once-skeptical New York crowd with his versatility and poise, but has leveled off a bit over the last few weeks as the long NBA season starts to take its toll.
Towns has seen no such issues with the ''rookie wall,'' blowing through it, playing more minutes and making a bigger impact as the season has gone on. It was more of the same on Saturday night, with Towns carrying the offensive load for the Wolves in a night when Wiggins got off to an 0-for-5 start.
He scored 10 straight for the Wolves in the second quarter to wake them up, but the Wolves couldn't come up with enough sustained defense to get back into it.
While Porzingis was limited to 12 minutes, Lopez had his way with the Wolves down low, especially in the best first quarter of his career. He got the Knicks off to a great start with a career-high 16 points in the quarter after entering the night averaging just 9.3 points per game.
TIP-INS
Knicks: Rambis coached the Wolves for two forgettable seasons from 2009-2011, going 32-132 and clashing with former GM David Kahn toward the end of his tenure. ... Anthony became the 30th player to score 22,000 career points on a jumper in the fourth quarter.
Timberwolves: Towns, Wiggins and Zach LaVine were recognized for their accomplishments at All-Star weekend. Wiggins scored 29 points in the Rising Stars game, LaVine won MVP of that game and his second straight dunk contest and Towns won the Skills Challenge. ... LaVine finished with 14 points.
UP NEXT
Knicks: Host Toronto on Monday.
Timberwolves: Host Boston on Monday.
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