New York Knicks heart Karl-Anthony Cities was met with a heat and enthusiastic ovation from the Goal Heart crowd on Thursday evening as he confronted off towards the Minnesota Timberwolves, the workforce the place he spent the primary 9 seasons of his notable NBA profession.
These reunions can generally carry an air of awkwardness, however the admiration for Cities was plain. Because the franchise’s second all-time main scorer, he was greeted with a heartfelt 86-second tribute video ready by the Timberwolves. The gang responded with a thunderous ovation throughout participant introductions, prompting a real smile from the 7-footer.
Karl-Anthony Cities then obliterated his former workforce, racking up 32 factors, 20 rebounds, and 6 assists whereas taking pictures a powerful 10-for-12 from the sphere, together with an ideal 5-for-5 from past the arc, main the Knicks to a commanding 133-107 victory.
Karl-Anthony Cities holding his ideas to himself after his return to Minnesota
“I’ve one thing in my thoughts I will not say,” stated the previous Timberwolves centerpiece.
Was Cities fueled by further motivation to ship such a dominant efficiency towards the workforce that parted methods with him? In that case, he selected to maintain his emotions personal, providing little perception into his mindset.
“This place means so much to me and my household. Everybody was attempting to make it appear to be it was simply one other sport. I knew it wasn’t,” Cities stated on his post-game interview. “I did not need to let my feelings overcome the sport. I wasn’t enjoying for myself. I used to be enjoying for the win.”
“I am simply completely happy that I used to be in a position to have the sport I had at the moment,” he continued.
The commerce that despatched Cities to New York sparked appreciable debate. The Timberwolves have been contemporary off a 56-26 season that culminated of their first Western Convention Finals look since 2004, with Cities enjoying a pivotal position in that success.
Regardless of this, the entrance workplace determined to interrupt up the seven-foot tandem of Cities and Rudy Gobert, prioritizing enhanced wing depth. In return, they acquired Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, Keita Bates-Diop, and a future draft choose.
Cities thriving in New York
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Cities himself appeared lower than happy with the transfer, posting solely an ellipsis on Twitter the evening of the commerce. His discontent was comprehensible, as he had simply signed an extension to remain in Minnesota, with the contract set to kick on this season.
The 29-year-old has had a powerful begin to the season, heading into Thursday’s sport with averages of 24.8 factors and a league-best 13.9 rebounds per sport. He has additionally been extremely environment friendly, taking pictures 52.9% from the sphere.
Over his practically 600-game tenure with the Timberwolves, Cities delivered averages of 23 factors, 11 rebounds, and three assists, all whereas sustaining a powerful 40% taking pictures accuracy from past the arc on greater than 4 makes an attempt per sport. His confident declare of being the “best massive man shooter of all time” continues to carry weight, particularly as his taking pictures has reached new heights with the Knicks, the place he has been changing 44% of his three-point makes an attempt on over 5 photographs per sport heading into Thursday evening.
After narrowly lacking the highest seed within the Western Convention final season, Minnesota has confronted challenges discovering consistency this 12 months. Regardless of a current surge earlier than Thursday’s defeat, the Timberwolves maintain a 14-12 report, inserting them amidst a crowded area of Play-In hopefuls within the West.
In the meantime, Cities and the Knicks have been thriving. With their win in Minnesota, the Knicks improved to 17-10 and boasted the league’s second-highest offensive ranking heading into Thursday’s matchup.