Knicks torch Timberwolves with three-pointers

MINNEAPOLIS — Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau has stressed since training camp the need for the Knicks to shoot more three-point field goals. Given that they never reached the lofty number of threes he targeted during the first nine games of the season, maybe they needed to see what it looked like.

They got a clear view Saturday as Boston went 27-for-51 against them. The Celtics set a franchise record for the most made threes in a game and the Knicks set a franchise record for the most surrendered in a game.

With that fresh in their minds, the Knicks took the floor at the Target Center on Monday and came out firing. They set season highs for attempts and makes from beyond the arc, shooting 19-for-48 as they evened their record at 5-5 with a 120-107 win.

Asked to describe what he saw from the offense, Jalen Brunson smiled and paused. “Julius Randle. Julius Randle. And Julius Randle,” he said. “He shot them tonight, and they were all pretty. He was big-time for us tonight. Big game for him, and he kind of got our energy going.”

Randle (season-high 31 points, 8-for-13 from outside the arc) scored 15 points on five threes in the first quarter. Brunson had 23 points and eight assists and RJ Barrett added 22 points.

As Randle was conducting his postgame media session, Barrett took the MSG Network microphone and implored Randle to compare himself to Steph Curry. Randle wisely resisted that.

“I think we’re just playing free, not second-guessing,” Randle said. “If it’s open, shoot it. And create for each other.”

The Knicks built a 27-point lead in the second quarter and never let Minnesota back in the game. The Timberwolves drew as close as 105-92 early in the fourth quarter before Randle and Brunson hit three-pointers to make it a 19-point lead.

Thibodeau has stressed the need to shoot more threes this season, following the path set by most of the best teams in the NBA. While he would not put an exact number on it publicly, he did hint earlier this season that he wanted about 50 attempts per game. Before Monday, the Knicks hadn’t come close to that, never attempting more than 38 in the first nine games.

The lesson in that Celtics game was a simple one.

“They hit some tough ones, but at the end of the day — we shot 27, they made 27,” Isaiah Hartenstein said. “it’s hard to win. If felt like we were still scoring, but we were scoring two, they were scoring three.”

The Knicks converted 10 of 19 three-pointers in taking a 38-29 lead, setting a franchise record for most three-pointers in a first quarter. They led 76-52 at the half.

The Timberwolves were without Rudy Gobert, but that hardly explained the defensive lapses — just as the Knicks couldn’t pin their three-point defense Saturday on the absence of Mitchell Robinson.

“We’ve been emphasizing it all year,” Thibodeau said. “The game tells you, but obviously that’s the way the league is going so we have to make sure we don’t settle.

“Obviously, we want to attack the rim. I think we’re first in the league in points in the paint. But we’ve also got to think about how we can create those opportunities where we get good open threes. I don’t want bad threes, I want good threes. So sometimes we’re settling too early in the clock maybe for a mid-range when we can probe a little more, attack the rim and then spray out to get some wide-open threes.

“I think we moved without the ball. When you play like that, you’re hard to guard. People are going to be open. Just trust the pass, play off the pass.”

The Knicks still fell short of their franchise record for made threes — 24 on Oct. 22, 2021, against the Magic.

Minnesota shot 11-for-41 from outside the arc and was led by Karl-Anthony Towns’ 25 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists.

By Steve Popper

steve.popper@newsday.com@StevePopper

Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.