Minnesota 106 - New York 88

NEW YORK (TICKER) -- Kevin Garnett made sure the Minnesota Timberwolves got off to a quick start this time.

Garnett scored 18 of his 25 points in the first half as the hot-shooting Timberwolves grabbed an early lead and cruised to a 106-88 victory over the woeful New York Knicks.

The Timberwolves were ambushed in Saturday's 96-82 home loss to New Jersey, falling behind early and never recovering. In this one, they turned the tables on the Knicks, who have lost six of their last seven games.

"We played pretty bad against New Jersey. They did a number on us," Garnett said. "We had a team meeting this morning and made some adjustments."

Minnesota never trailed after the first eight minutes, shooting 54 percent (21-of-39) from the field in the first half and opening a 14-point advantage before settling for a 51-45 lead.

The Wolves widened the lead to 80-69 entering the final period and were ahead by at least nine points thereafter, pulling away down the stretch. They were even hotter in the second half, finishing at 57 percent (43-of-76).

The Timberwolves improved to 3-2 in the second of back-to-back games. They also are 3-2 in the front end and have followed both losses with wins.

"We've always played good and had more energy on the second end of a back-to-back," Minnesota coach Flip Saunders said. "Maybe we need to have a meeting or talk about a few things instead of going out to practice in order to figure out why we're playing better on the second half of a back-to-back."

Garnett made 10-of-18 shots and added 15 rebounds, seven assists and three steals. Joe Smith scored 17 points and Gary Trent added 14 for Minnesota, which has won its last two visits to Madison Square Garden after winning just one of its first 12.

Allan Houston scored 32 points but had another lackluster second half for the Knicks (2-10), who dropped to 2-6 at home. New York shot just 40.5 percent (34-of-84).

The Wolves took the lead for good at 16-15 on a basket by Rasho Nesterovic with 3:58 left in the first quarter. The 7-foot Garnett scored nine points in the period as Minnesota grabbed a 29-18 lead.

"We have a great size advantage and we did a nice job of getting him the ball," Saunders said.

Garnett scored nine more points in the second period, including a layup that gave the Wolves a 39-25 lead with 7:55 left.

"I thought Rod (Strickland) did a good job of setting the tone with the elbow pick-and-roll to get him some easy looks," Saunders said. "KG got good rhythm and we played with good rhythm offensively, which we didn't do last night."

Houston got the Knicks back in it, scoring 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting in the first half. But in the third quarter, he encountered Garnett and was scoreless from the field as the Wolves rebuilt the lead to 14 points.

"I know he's a scorer. That's what he does," Garnett said. "You just have to contain him at times. I just try to keep a hand in his face and wear him down."

"I figured it might happen," Houston said. "The last time we played them, it happened. It's something I was prepared for."

In Friday's overtime loss at New Orleans, Houston was scoreless after halftime. In this one, he shot just 3-of-9 in the second half.

Anthony Peeler stole a bad pass by Latrell Sprewell and went in for a dunk that made it 90-73 with 7:53 to go. The Knicks pulled within 94-85 on a 3-pointer by Houston with 4:06 left, but Strickland hit a free throw between errant passes by Shandon Anderson, and Minnesota pulled away.

Strickland had 13 points and seven assists and Peeler and Kendall Gill scored 10 points each for the Wolves, who held a 40-33 rebounding edge.

"Rod did really good tonight," Saunders said. "I told him I was going to get him back into shape in one game."

"I think we executed," added Strickland, who signed with the Timberwolves just before the season started. "We ran the pick-and-roll, got some good looks, got on the break and got some stops."

Kurt Thomas had 21 points and 10 rebounds and Sprewell scored 12 points for the Knicks, who were outscored in the paint, 56-36.

"We're giving up a lot of size inside," Knicks coach Don Chaney said. "What we tried to do was not leave perimeter guys open, but eventually with their size, you have to get down and help."

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