MINNEAPOLIS _ For the first time since Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns suited up together in 2015, the Wolves played a game without both of them.
Wiggins missed a second consecutive game because of a left quad contusion while Towns sat out because of right knee inflammation. In Towns' case, this represented a positive development that he evaded a more serious injury after exiting Saturday's game near the end of regulation.
That left the Wolves without their two franchise maximum contract players on Sunday. But they didn't have to exert maximum effort considering their opponent was the tanking Knicks, who the Wolves dispatched of 103-92 at Target Center.
Sunday marked the third game Towns has missed in his career, and the Wolves have won two of those games, both against the Knicks. He previously missed two games after he was involved in a car accident the day before the Wolves flew to New York to play the Knicks after the All-Star break. Wiggins missed his eighth game of the season.
The Wolves relied on their veteran talent _ and one budding rookie _ to assert their dominance over the Knicks. Taj Gibson made the start for Towns at center, and Gibson used his expert footwork and got the better of his matchup inside against DeAndre Jordan. Gibson was efficient and helped fill the scoring void Towns left with his absence by getting 25 points and eight rebounds. At one point in the first quarter when Gibson made a move around Jordan for a reverse layup, Jordan paused and nodded his head in appreciation. Jordan was just 1 of 8 for two points.
Also helping the Wolves in the scoring column was guard Teague, who had one of his most productive games in a while. Teague shook off a 2 for 14 shooting performance from Saturday with 20 points and 10 assists. The Wolves are 8-2 when Teague gets a double-double in points and assists.
But perhaps the most important revelation for the Wolves was the play of Keita Bates-Diop, the rookie they selected in the second round of last year's draft. Bates-Diop made his second consecutive start in place of Wiggins and for the second consecutive night looked like he belonged. He finished with 18 points on 7 of 12 shooting in 35 minutes and was able to produce productively on both ends of the floor.
Derrick Rose was limited in the second night of a back to back, playing only eight minutes a night after he played 30 in the overtime win against Washington.
The Wolves and Knicks didn't exactly play an exciting brand of basketball, especially early. In this modern era of the NBA, where scoring is on an upswing, the Knicks and Wolves brought it back to the 1990s in the first quarter with just 45 combined points. The Wolves had a 23-22 lead after one, but began to take over the game with a 10-2 run in the second quarter to take a 38-32 lead. From there Gibson and Teague made sure the Knicks didn't cut into the lead with Teague hitting a buzzer beating three to make it 55-45 at the half. The Wolves then kept it in double digits throughout the third and into the fourth, when they put the game away.
It was a drama-free Sunday at Target Center and that was welcome considering Towns was hobbling off the floor 24 hours earlier and his status hung in there through the day Sunday. But all was back to normal, at least for this Wolves team.
