Knicks’ Karl-Anthony Towns receives standing ovation in Minnesota, then blows out Timberwolves

Karl-Anthony Towns is a member of the New York Knicks now, but he’s still got plenty of fans in Minnesota. But maybe not so much after Thursday.

The big man returned to the Target Center on Thursday for the first time since the trade that ended a nine-year tenure with the Timberwolves last offseason. After receiving a hero’s welcome, he led a Knicks blowout over his former team, posting 32 points and 20 rebounds in a 133-107 win.

Such occasions can sometimes be awkward, but the love was still clearly there for a man who remains the franchise’s No. 2 scorer of all time. The Timberwolves welcomed Towns back with a well-executed 86-second video, while the crowd erupted in cheers as he was introduced. The 7-footer couldn’t hold back a smile.

As loud as the cheers for Towns were, the crowd had plenty of jeers for the man next introduced: Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau, who coached Minnesota for three years with, shall we say, mixed results.

Some in the crowd kept cheering for Towns during the game, applauding his first basket.

The baskets kept coming. Towns scored his 32 points on a hyper-efficient 10-of-12 shooting (5-of-5 from deep), along with six assists and two steals to go with his 20 rebounds. That last total was as many as the Timberwolves’ starting lineup combined.

The trade that brought Towns to New York was a divisive one. The Timberwolves were coming off a 56-26 season in which they reached their first Western Conference finals since 2004 and Towns was a big part of that, but the team’s front office opted to split up its seven-foot duo of him and Rudy Gobert in exchange for better wing depth in the form of Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, Keita Bates-Diop and a draft pick.

Towns himself didn’t seem thrilled with the move, only tweeting an ellipsis the night of. He had previously signed an extension to remain in Minnesota that didn’t even start until this season.

It has so far been a strong start to the season for Towns, who entered Thursday averaging 24.8 points and an NBA-leading 13.9 rebounds per game while shooting 52.9% from the field and 43.9% from 3-point range.