MINNEAPOLIS _ This one, perhaps, wasn't as pretty as recent Wolves victories have been.
The defense was spotty Friday against the New York Knicks at Target Center. The Knicks shot north of 55 percent for much of the night.
No matter.
Up just a point entering the fourth quarter, the Wolves got down to work. Opening the quarter on a 16-4 run, the Wolves took a 13-point lead on Karl-Anthony Towns' three-point play, saw that lead grow to 19, then held on for a 118-108 victory at Target Center in front of an announced 18,978 fans. It was the team's sixth straight sellout, ninth overall this season.
Sometimes, one really good quarter is enough.
The Wolves (28-16) stayed hot, winning their fourth straight overall _ their five-game homestand ends Sunday against Portland _ and their 11th in the last 15 games.
That really good quarter? Nemanja Bjelica opened it with a 3-pointer, hit another shortly thereafter and the Wolves just kept rolling, building a lead as big as 19.
So what if their seven-game streak of holding opponents under 100 points is over? The winning streak isn't.
Towns had 23 points, 15 rebounds and a season-high nine assists, just missing his third career triple-double. He was one of eight Wolves players to score 10 or more points. Jeff Teague had 12 points and eight assists. Taj Gibson had 17 points.
New York was led by Tim Hardaway Jr., who returned from injury to score 16 points. Center Enes Kanter had 16 points and 12 assists. Kristaps Porzingis had 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Up 19, the Wolves allowed the Knicks to pull within nine on Porzingis' basket with 2:10 left. But the Knicks (19-23), who lost for the ninth time in 11 games, got no closer.
With Porzingis altering shots by just about every Wolves player entering the paint, the Knicks took a 27-24 lead after the first quarter, thanks to 13 for 22 shooting on their part and 11 for 28 shooting (39.3 percent) by the Wolves.
The Knicks led by as many as seven midway through the quarter after Porzingis hit a 3-pointer. But Jeff Teague's 3-pointer started a 12-4 run that put the Wolves up 20-19 on Crawford's 3-pointer. But the Knicks hit their final four shots of the quarter.
That hot streak continued for the Knicks, who expanded their lead despite the fact the Wolves hit five of their first seven shots of the second quarter.
Indeed, with Michael Beasley scoring time after time _ he scored 11 of his 13 points in the second quarter _ the Knicks went up 57-49 on Hardaway's 3-pointer. But the Wolves finished the quarter on a 6-0 run, pulling within 57-55 on Butler's dunk off a behind-the-back pass from Towns.
Still, the Knicks shot 13 for 19 in the quarter, with the Wolves staying close thanks to the Wolves scoring seven points on three Knicks turnovers in the quarter.
The Wolves came out strong in the third. With Towns scoring seven points, Gibson five and Teague scoring two with four assists, the Wolves opened the quarter on a 14-4 run to take an eight-point lead on the Knicks, who started the quarter 1 for 7.
The lead was still eight after Wiggins' three-point play midway through the quarter.
But a succession of defensive lapses allowed the Knicks to reel off a 12-5 run to pull within a point with 3:18 left. And that was the margin at quarter's end.
