NEW YORK – On that June night in 2015, when the Timberwolves used the first overall pick on Karl-Anthony Towns, the crowd assembled at Target Center, loving it, went wild. Minutes later, when the Knicks, at No. 4, chose Kristaps Porzingis, the New York fans booed.
Wednesday at Target Center the two put on a show. Towns had a career-high 47 points, 18 rebounds and three blocks in a two-point loss. Porzingis had 29 points, eight rebounds and four assists. The two had much quieter nights Friday, with Porzingis scoring just 11 points on 2-for-12 shooting and Towns 20 — but on 5-for-18 shooting.
The two big men are becoming the class of that draft.
"The sky's the limit for them two guys in this league,'' Knicks star Carmelo Anthony said following Wednesday's game. "Towns playing the way he's playing, Kristaps getting better and better each day. They'll be around for a long time. They'll be the face of this league in a couple years.''
The two became friends in the buildup to the draft. Towns helped Porzingis, coming from Europe, feel comfortable. They regularly text each other after good games. Porzingis is planning on working out with Towns this summer.
"I think good people find good people,'' Towns said. "Kris helps me out a lot. He'll text me after seeing a stat line. I will if I see a stat line he had. He puts the work in, he's a great character guy. I'm proud to watch his journey.''
Towns' first impression of Porzingis? Just how tall (7-3) he was. "I think I'm tall, Towns said. "But he's really tall.''
While they're different players, they are similar in the way they can stretch the floor as big men. Entering Friday's game, Towns had career averages of 19.1 points and 10.4 rebounds, Porzingis 15.7 and 7.3. This year Towns is scoring 22.4 points per game, Porzingis 21.4.
