Knicks blow it late in loss to NBA-worst Timberwolves

Tom Thibodeau wished he wasn’t so prescient when it came to the Timberwolves, his former club.

“It’s really a loaded roster,’’ Thibodeau said before Wednesday night’s game about the league’s worst team. “No lead is safe against them.”

And so it was.

The Knicks blew an 18-point lead in the first half, recovered and led by 13 points early in the fourth quarter before choking and dropping an awful 102-101 decision at Target Center.

It was so uncharacteristic of this gritty group and the first time in seven weeks that the Knicks have lost two consecutive games.

And it was especially bitter considering this was Thibodeau’s first return to Minnesota since getting fired by the Timberwolves in January 2019. His team fell to 24-24 as the Knicks were outscored 32-20 in the final period as RJ Barrett and Julius Randle went stone cold in the clutch.

“You let your guard down just a little bit you’re going to be in trouble,’’ Thibodeau said. “There’s 30 teams, 29 capable of beating you if you don’t come with that edge, with the mentality to play 48 minutes. If you get loose, you’re going to get knocked down.’’

Barrett scored 23 points but folded down the stretch with a turnover as he dribbled the ball off his leg driving the baseline in the final minute. And then he was short on a potential game-winning 15-foot stepback jumper with two seconds left.

“It’s what he thinks, it’s his read. It’s an isolation-type play with three options,’’ Thibodeau said. “That was one of them.”

“I felt it was the best shot available,’’ Barrett said. “I’ll have to go back and look at it.’’

Meanwhile, the No. 1 pick in the 2020 draft, Anthony Edwards, soared late and made a big driving basket past Barrett down the stretch and finished with 24 points.

Edwards said the Timberwolves wanted to keep the ball away from Randle on the last possession.

“We told Jaden try not let Randle catch the ball, let someone else beat us,” Edwards said on the final play. “Gladly RJ caught it and if he made the shot we would’ve lived with it. That’s who we wanted taking the shot. We didn’t want anyone else take it.”  

Randle scored 24 points with 12 rebounds and six assists but missed a foul-line jumper with 10 seconds left and the Knicks down 1. He clanked his final three shots.

After Randle’s last miss, Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns got the rebound but lost it and the Knicks won the scramble for the loose ball, calling timeout with 5.1 seconds left.

“Very disappointing. a loss is always disappointing,’’ Randle said in a near whisper on Zoom, reminiscent of his low voice after all those late losses last season. “It’s frustrating, especially at this point of the season. It’s frustrating. It’s over with now. We’ve got to regroup. We don’t have time to hang our heads.’’

While Edwards was terrific, the Wolves won it on Malik Beasley’s 3-pointer with 37 seconds left — its first lead since the first period.

“They just wanted it more than us in the fourth,’’ Barrett said.

The Wolves, who have fallen apart since Thibodeau’s ouster, have one big night to celebrate, improving to 12-36, still owners of the NBA’s worst record.

“Look at the roster, Edwards has played very well the last few games, Towns is a load to deal with, Beasley is an elite shooter,’’ Thibodeau said. “[Jaden] McDaniels got loose on us in the first half. When that happens you’re playing with fire. We did good things to build those leads and we didn’t play tough enough with the lead.’’

The Knicks, off an 18-3 run, built a 39-21 lead early in the second quarter before the Wolves roared back with McDaniels hitting 4 of 5 3-pointers to close the period.

And, as Thibodeau predicted, Minnesota never stopped coming.

“The message was clear,’’ Randle said of the locker-room sentiment. “We’ve got to take care of business. It’s a loss I feel like we should’ve won. You can’t get it back, got to move forward.’’

Ex-Timberwolves big man Taj Gibson, the Knicks backup center, nearly keyed the win with three blocks, seven rebounds and a big go-ahead bucket with 50 seconds left after he caught Elfrid Payton’s deflected shot in midair and laid it in.

But the Knicks needed their other ex-Minnesota player, Derrick Rose, who missed his 11th game, this time with a sprained ankle.

“There are a lot of arenas that I parted ways with,’’ Thibodeau said before the game. “I was here — I stayed here actually almost a year after I was let go. I’m comfortable here. I enjoyed my time here. It’s great to be back.’’

Turned out it was lousy.