Karl-Anthony Towns ready to give the Knicks some center stability

Karl-Anthony Towns’ reunion with his former team certainly was more warm and fuzzy than watching Donte DiVincenzo chirp at the Knicks bench from the free-throw line and then have heated words with Rick Brunson following Sunday’s preseason game at the Garden. 

Towns, facing the Timberwolves for the first time since the September blockbuster swap that sent DiVincenzo and Julius Randle to Minnesota, traded jerseys with former teammate Anthony Edwards and smiling hugs with others after posting a double-double to help the Knicks to a 115-110 victory. 

“It was a lot of emotion, some amazing moments and times and nine years of my life in Minnesota, and a place that I’ve called home,” Towns said after the game. “So guys who are not just teammates to me, but brothers, real-life brothers. 

“So it definitely was a wild, wild day, definitely coming to work.” 

The wildness of the game mostly was provided by DiVincenzo, but the 28-year-old Towns simply took it as another opportunity to acclimate to his new teammates and surroundings at the Garden as the center within the Knicks system — a role he played for three seasons early in his career when Tom Thibodeau coached the Timberwolves. 

The four-time All-Star finished Sunday’s game with 16 points, 16 rebounds and three steals in 29 effective minutes, while Randle did not play for Minnesota. 

“I think they’re different players in some ways, but similar in others,” Thibodeau said. “I think Julius is more of a power forward, but a terrific player. When you look at what he did for us, the scoring, the passing, rebounding, but it’s at the power forward position. 

“We had a great need obviously with Mitchell Robinson [injured] and Isaiah [Hartenstein] losing [him] in free agency. We needed a center. That was a big part of it, so I think the center position … when I look at Karl, I like his versatility and his size is important to us.” 

The 7-footer provides the Knicks an added dimension as a 39.8 percent shooter from 3-point range for his career, but Thibodeau also stresses rim protection at the 5 position. 

It is especially important for Towns to be reliable defensively with Hartenstein bolting for Oklahoma City and Robinson still expected to be sidelined for multiple months following ankle surgery. 

“It’s just accepting the responsibility of being the person who’s quarterbacking and anchoring the defense,” Towns said. “We’ve got amazing wings as everyone knows with OG [Anunoby] and Mikal [Bridges,] and Josh [Hart] and Jalen [Brunson] really doing a great job of putting pressure on ball handlers, as well. 

“That’s gonna give us the wins, and we have a lot of goals in mind and for us to even come close to accomplishing that, it takes us to solidify the defense, our defensive game plan and identity. … Doing that here again is gonna be a key for us to do something special in the city.” 

Offensively, Towns says his biggest adjustment entering Tuesday’s home exhibition game against the Hornets has been learning where he’s needed to space the court and “refreshing” Thibodeau’s terminology from earlier in his career. 

“I’m a different player than I was when I was with Thibs the first time around,” Towns said. “Both of us are adjusting to each other, but we have a solid foundation built from before.” 

And while DiVincenzo’s back-and-forth with the Knicks coaching staff during his MSG return went viral, facing the Timberwolves so soon after the trade didn’t seem to have any adverse effect on Towns. 

“Emotions were too much. No, I joke,” Towns said. “I think regardless, the game of basketball, the business of basketball, it’s just gonna keep going. It doesn’t matter how you feel, it doesn’t matter how life is treating you. 

“You’ve just gotta come here ready every day, put your city on the map and do the best you can for your teammates and your organization. Obviously today would be a tough day for me, but I went out there and did the best I could for my teammates. Just wanted to do what I could to help us win this game.”