Knicks Star Ready For ‘Cool’ Reunion

Home for the holidays takes on a whole new meaning for New York Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns.

The Knicks’ Christmas rush features a monumental Midwestern match in the middle part of a three-game road trip on Thursday, as Towns and New York will face the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center (9:30 p.m. ET, MSG/TNT). Little more dressing is required for such a contest, as it’ll be the first regular season showdown since the famous swap for Donte DiVincenzo and Julius Randle.

Towns and the Knicks get a few days to stew on the idea with three days off after Sunday’s 100-91 win in Orlando. The decorated center thus has a little extra time to ponder how the Minneapolis faithful will regale him upon his return.

“Every game is important [but] it will be cool to be in the house,” Towns said, per Steve Popper of Newsday. “I don’t know. But I know that every single day that I put on that Timberwolves jersey I gave the absolute best of me even when I wasn’t 100 percent. I gave them all of me mentally, physically, spiritually. I was there nine years, so I go there with a lot of pride and joy for the memories that I have.”

The busy Knicks have had their share of emotional homecomings over the past three seasons, such as Jalen Brunson in Dallas and OG Anunoby in Toronto. Towns’ return means just a little more considering his icon status in Minneapolis.

Chosen with the top pick in the 2015 draft amidst a seemingly endless Minnesota rebuild, Towns comes in second to Kevin Garnett in several major statistical categories. His tenured culminated in a trip to the Western Conference Finals, the Timberwolves’ first in two decades.

That, however, wasn’t enough to keep him out of the cost-cutting transactions of the offseason, as the Wolves sent his contract and services to the Knicks. Fortunately for New York (16-10), Towns has performed as advertised, notably notching a 22-point/rebound double-double in Sunday’s triumph.

Towns has basked in a return to the tri-state area, having devoutly followed the team’s turn-of-the-century endeavors as a youth in New Jersey. Nine years, however, will certainly generate a second home in a hurry.

“I know the last time I was there, I looked myself in the mirror and I knew I gave the state, the city, the organization over there everything I could possibly give and even found myself giving more than I thought I had,” Towns said, per Popper. “I was proud of the man that I presented over there in a Timberwolves jersey. You never know how the fans will respond. But I know for me, my household, I know what I gave that organization, and I am happy and proud for what I was able to do.”

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