Knicks Extend Road Win Streak to Three in Minnesota

After rallying past two teams already in postseason position, the Knicks used another second-half surge to blow past the Minnesota Timberwolves for a 102-94 victory Friday night in the fourth game of a five-game road trip.

New York, which improved to 28-37 this season, moves within one game of the Bucks for eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Chicago, Charlotte and Indiana – all of which were ahead of the Knicks in the race for the final spot – lost on Friday.

“When I thought we had it won, I looked up and saw a couple teams lost that we needed to lose,” admitted Head Coach Mike D’Antoni, whose Knicks won three in a row on the road for the first time in four years.

While Nate Robinson and Larry Hughes’ late shooting guided New York in back-to-back wins against Milwaukee and Detroit earlier this week, the Knicks used a balanced scoring attack to overcome a six-point third-quarter deficit in Minnesota.

Robinson led all five starters in double figures with 25 points, while Wilson Chandler added 24. David Lee contributed 12 and 13 rebounds for his league-leading 53rd double-double of the season.

“We have a lot of players playing with injuries and illnesses,” said Chandler, who also pulled in a career-high 12 rebounds. “I just wanted to come out and give the extra effort.”

Playing without Chris Duhon for just the second time, the Knicks managed to attack early and build a 13-point edge in the first quarter. But the Timberwolves fought their way back and ended the first half on a 15-4 run to take a two-point lead into halftime.

After finding themselves down six in the third quarter to a team that had defeated them in 12 of their previous 15 meetings, the Knicks rallied and eventually took a 10-point edge midway through the fourth and held on down the stretch.

Robinson, battling an upset stomach, sealed the win with six free throws in the final minute.

“Nate played the whole game with a stomach virus and he kind of came on in the last moment,” D’Antoni said. “He was throwing up on the sideline.”

Robinson replaced Chris Duhon in the starting lineup after the wear and tear of playing big minutes earlier this season finally caught up to the starting point guard.

Duhon had been battling a sore lower back for several weeks and is expected to sit out Sunday’s matchup against the Cavaliers in the final game of the trip.

“I don’t think Chris would ever come and say he wouldn’t play because he’s done it all year,” D’Antoni said. “He’s played through a lot of pain when we had to have him play because we had no one, and he continued to do that even though we have Larry Hughes who can fill in for him.

“We still have 16 games after this road trip and we want him 100 percent.”

If the Knicks keep playing the way they have recently, especially on the road, they’ll need Duhon rested for the playoffs.