Several Knicks Impress in Loss to Timberwolves

Wanting to ensure a win against his former team, Coach Mike D’Antoni didn’t play his entire roster against Armani Jeans Milano, saying “I’m not losing to Milan.” On Wednesday against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Paris, France, while going up against NBA competition for the first time this season, D’Antoni was set on giving an extended look at each player.

Despite a 106-100 loss, the Knicks head coach has to be pleased with what he saw. Several young players stood out for New York in the second and final game of their European trip, including the team’s two second-round draft picks.

Third-year forward Anthony Randolph led five Knicks in double figures with 14 points, while rookie forward Landry Fields added 13. Second-year guard Toney Douglas and swingman Wilson Chandler scored 12 apiece.

The Knicks used the same starting lineup as they did in their 125-113 victory in Italy - Chandler, Raymond Felton, Amar’e Stoudemire, Danilo Gallinari and Ronny Turiaf – and raced out to a 13-point lead in the opening minutes. But the Timberwolves fought their way back and eventually built a 13-point lead of their own in the second half.

As the game started to slip away late in the third quarter, D’Antoni didn’t look for his starters to give the team a boost. Instead, he went to a lineup that featured Fields and his rookie partner Andy Rautins, who did not play in the first preseason game, to keep the game close until the closing minutes.

Rautins started an 8-2 run in the fourth quarter to cut the Timberwolves’ lead to just five when he dished off a pass to Timofey Mozgov for a dunk. On the Knicks’ following possession, he drained his first 3-pointer as an NBA player. All of Rautins’ eight points came in the final period.

Mozgov, the rookie who signed with the Knicks out of Russia during the offseason, had his second impressive outing as a Knick as he recorded eight points, two rebounds and a pair of blocks in 18 minutes.

With 11 new faces entering the preseason, D’Antoni took a look at everyone on his as he works on building a rotation for the regular season. D’Antoni, who typically uses a seven- or eight-man rotation, used 12 players in the first half and all 14 available players against the Timberwolves.

The only two players on the Knicks’ roster who didn’t see any time were Kelenna Azubuike (knee) and Eddy Curry (hamstring), who are both out with injuries.

The Knicks play six more preseason games before the regular season starts on Oct. 27 against the Raptors in Toronto.