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Porzingis, Towns geared up for rematch of epic big-man battle
Get ready for “The Rematch: KAT vs. KP, Part II”
As Kristaps Porzingis said after Wednesday’s 106-104 thriller won by the Knicks at Minnesota, he and the Timberwolves’ Karl-Anthony Towns put on quite the show that night. Now, the teams move to the Garden on Friday night. It’s the last time the two studs from the 2015 draft will square off this season.
Carmelo Anthony hit the game-winner with 2.3 seconds left Wednesday, but he knows Towns and Porzingis carried the night for the first 47:57. The 7-foot Towns was rookie of the year last season, the 7-3 Porzingis was runner-up.
“The sky’s the limit for them two guys in this league,’’ Anthony said. “Towns playing the way he’s playing, Kristaps getting better and better each day. They’ll be around for a long time. They’ll be face of this league in a couple of years.’’ If not already. “Two great players in this league for a long, long time,’’ Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek said. “Both 21, 22 years old. They’re going to be dominating in these next bunch of years. It’s fun to watch.’’
Towns, the Piscataway, N.J., product who was one-and-done at Kentucky, is coming off the most productive night of his career. He clobbered the Knicks for a career-high 47 points, a season-high 18 rebounds and three blocks two days after placing the blame for the T’wolves’ awful start on his shoulders.
Only nine players in the past three decades have posted at least 47 and 18 in a game, with Knicks great Patrick Ewing one of them. On March 24, 1990, against the Celtics, Ewing racked up his career high of 51 points with 18 boards. Ewing’s big game, just like Towns’, came in a loss.
“It was a monster game — too bad we couldn’t pull out the win,’’ Minnesota coach Tom Thibodeau said.
Thibodeau, the fans’ choice to coach the Knicks last spring, enters the Garden with a 5-13 club adjusting to his taskmaster ways.
Towns was a one-man band Wednesday while Porzingis, 21, had help. The Latvian was a beast himself, racking up 29 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Porzingis rammed home an offensive putback with 36.4 seconds left to put the Knicks up by two. Towns answered with two free throws with 24 seconds remaining to tie it.
“Forty seven is a heckuva game,’’ Hornacek said. “We got to do something [different] against him.”
The Knicks could use the return of struggling starting center Joakim Noah (ankle) since none of their other bigs could stop Towns.
“He’s got great moves inside,’’ Hornacek said. “He’s quick with his spins. Gets offensive rebounds, steps out and shoots 3s. When you get there for his 3, he gives a nice little ball fake and takes one or two dribbles and gets to the basket. With his length, KP is the only guy on our team who can reach that. He’s a tough guy to deal with.”
As is the Latvian unicorn. Thibodeau, the former Knicks assistant and Bulls coach, faced Porzingis for the first time because he took a sabbatical last season.
“You can see the confidence he has,’’ Thibodeau said. “The second time around in the league, I think he knows where to find shots. They have two point guards that put a lot of pressure on you that can create shots for other people. Porzingis, his skill set, the high release, the ability to run the floor, shoot the 3, play in the post, play in the face-up game, it’s a lot to deal with. And he’s got great touch.’’
Said Towns: “I think I’m tall, but he’s really tall. And it’s always a lot of fun, for a person of his size, his height to be able to move the way he does.”