MINNEAPOLIS — The extra night in Minnesota now won’t be so painful.
Carmelo Anthony did everything last night but stop the blizzard in New York which has wrecked the Knicks’ travel plans.
The Knicks saved themselves from a nightmare two-game road trip by rallying from 11 points down in the final seven minutes to squeak out a 100-94 victory over the Timberwolves at Target Center. The Knicks closed the game on a 24-7 run.
Anthony bagged 36 points, lighting it up in the final minutes, finishing with 12 fourth-quarter points and erasing the stench of the awful fourth quarter in Washington in Wednesday’s loss.
“I told Raymond [Felton, with four minutes left,] ‘I’m going to try to go get it,’ ’’ Anthony said. “Being down 11, for the most part, we kept our composure and the way we did says a lot about us.’’
Anthony came alive late and gave the Knicks the lead for good with a runner to make it 91-90 with 2:20 left, then hit a pull-up jumper with 1:10 remaining as the Knicks went up 95-92.
“He wasn’t going to let us lose,’’ coach Mike Woodson said. “He made offensive play after offensive play.’’
The game-saving play, however, came with the Knicks leading by one with 33.1 seconds left and the Timberwolves with the ball.
Minnesota point guard Luke Ridnour, in the midst of a big night, drove the lane and was blocked by Felton. The ball squirted to J.R. Smith, who raced downcourt for a layup and was fouled. He made the free throw for the three-point play to give the Knicks a 98-94 lead with 19.9 seconds left.
Ricky Rubio came down the other way after a timeout and was rejected by Tyson Chandler on a drive.
“Our backs were against the wall in the fourth quarter,’’ said Woodson, who got to 50 wins faster than any other Knicks coach. “I thought they owned the third quarter. We dug a hole but we just kept fighting and our defense kicked in.’’
Smith finished with 15 points and Amar’e Stoudemire and Steve Novak each had 11. Stoudemire’s highlight play came in the first half when he posterized Greg Stiemsma on a driving dunk.
There were 18 lead changes in the game and nine ties. The Timberwolves led 87-76 with 7:00 left as Rubio and Ridnour were putting on a clinic against the Knicks’ overmatched defense. They finished with a combined 38 points. Rubio had 18 with 11 assists.
Even Anthony got a tongue-lashing from Woodson for his lax play in the pick-and-roll defense.
“He wasn’t switching on the pick and rolls,’’ Woodson said.
So the Knicks nearly lost to a Timberwolves team that had lost 13 of its last 15 and is playing without injured All-Star Kevin Love.
“I don’t really see single coverages a lot,’’ Anthony said. “I was trying to take advantage and get to my spots and make something happen.’’
The Knicks had to stay overnight instead of their normal custom of flying out of Minneapolis after the game, stuck because of the blizzard hitting New York. They hoped to fly back today in time for tomorrow’s 1 p.m. game against the Clippers.
The Knicks’ defense has had trouble with point guards lately, and last night, had to deal with Rubio and Ridnour. It didn’t go well.
The Knicks blew their seven-point halftime lead and got blitzed in the third quarter, as Ridnour and Rubio dominated. Ridnour scored 12 points in the third. The Timberwolves simply had more energy than the Knicks. Ridnour entered the final period shooting 9 of 12.
Rubio, historically a poor outside shooter, drilled a 3-pointer in the quarter making him just 2-of-18 for the season.
The Timberwolves took a 76-70 lead into the fourth, and on the first possession of the final period, Derrick Williams stole the ball at halfcourt and drove in for a dunk and 78-70 lead.
Serbian big man Nikola Pekovic continued his low-post dominance against the Knicks, hurting them for 16 points.