The Minnesota Timberwolves visit the New York Knicks on Thursday night, and while the winner will for the time being avoid the worst record in the NBA, the loser will gain the inside track on top lottery odds for June's draft.
The Knicks and Timberwolves are tied for the league's worst record as they slog through dreadful seasons marked by injuries to star players. New York is coming off a stunning victory over San Antonio, but Minnesota has lost six straight overall and seven in a row on the road.
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The Knicks (14-53) haven't done those odds any good by winning two of their last four as they continue a seven-game stretch against the Western Conference. Tuesday's 104-100 overtime win over San Antonio was their sixth victory in 12 at home after winning three of their first 20 at Madison Square Garden, one of two potential sites for the draft.
Langston Galloway had a career-high 22 points for the Knicks, Alexey Shved scored 21, and Lou Amundson finished with 12 points and a career-high 17 rebounds.
Minnesota's depleted roster put up a good fight against the Raptors as Kevin Martin (37 points) and Chase Budinger (19) matched their season highs for scoring but ran out of steam. The Timberwolves got point guard Ricky Rubio (ankle) back Wednesday but remained without guard Gary Neal (ankle) and centers Kevin Garnett (knee) and Nikola Pekovic (ankle), and center Justin Hamilton (illness) also sat out. Rookie Andrew Wiggins scored 15 points in his homecoming to Toronto and has hit double digits in 14 straight games.
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Defensively, Minnesota has been even more of a mess than normal over the last 10 games with teams averaging 108.2 points while shooting 49.7 percent and 40.6 from 3-point range. Toronto was 12 of 29 from beyond the arc.
BUZZER BEATERS
- Minnesota coach Flip Saunders missed the Toronto game while visiting his ailing father in Cleveland, but he is expected to rejoin the team in New York.
- The Knicks are 3-34 when allowing 100 or more points, and two of the three wins have come in overtime.
- The Timberwolves won the first meeting this season, 115-99 on Nov. 19 in Minnesota, and are trying to take the season series from the Knicks for the first time since 2006-07.
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