MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Anthony Edwards scored 38 points to help the Minnesota Timberwolves beat former teammate Karl-Anthony Towns for the first time and hold off the New York Knicks 115-104 on Tuesday night.
Julius Randle had 17 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter and Rudy Gobert contributed 11 points, 16 rebounds and his reliably fierce rim protection for the Wolves (20-10), who have won 10 of 12.
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New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns, right, shoots the ball over Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert (27) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle, right, shoots the ball over New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, left, works around New York Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards reacts to his basket against the New York Knicks during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
Towns scored a season-high 40 points before fouling out in the final minute for the Knicks (20-9) in the absence of fellow All-Star Jalen Brunson, who rested his previously injured ankle. Tyler Kolek started for Brunson and had 20 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.
Brunson, who had 47 points in a win over Miami on Sunday, joined O.G. Anunoby (ankle), Miles McBride (ankle) and Landry Shamet (shoulder) on the shelf to leave the backcourt thin — and make Towns the go-to scorer in his homecoming game against his original team.
Towns had 32 points and 20 rebounds in his first game back at Target Center a year ago, when the Knicks won 133-107. He didn’t play in the rematch in New York the next month, a 116-99 win for the Wolves. Earlier this season, Towns had 15 points toward a 137-114 victory over Minnesota at Madison Square Garden.
These matchups are emotional for Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, too, whom the Wolves acquired in the stunning trade before last season that sent their cornerstone East. Randle came alive down the stretch, flexing to the crowd after a couple of tough shots to help the Wolves recover from a 16-point lead they squandered earlier and build their advantage back to 17 late in the fourth quarter.
New York hosts Cleveland on Thursday afternoon to start the NBA's five-game Christmas Day slate, and the nightcap pits Minnesota at Denver.
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New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns, right, shoots the ball over Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert (27) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle, right, shoots the ball over New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, left, works around New York Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards reacts to his basket against the New York Knicks during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
BRISTOL, Pa. (AP) — A thunderous explosion Tuesday at a nursing home just outside Philadelphia killed at least two people, collapsed part of the building, sent fire shooting out and left people trapped inside, authorities said.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said in a later news conference that emergency responders braved the flames, a heavy odor of gas and a second explosion to evacuate residents and employees.
Fire officials said they were in “rescue mode” five hours later, with responders still digging by hand and using search dogs, earth-moving equipment and sonar to locate potential victims.
The explosion happened at Bristol Health & Rehab Center in Bristol Township, just as a utility crew had been on site looking for a gas leak.
Shapiro said a finding that a gas leak caused the explosion was preliminary.
A plume of smoke rose from the nursing home as emergency responders from across the region rushed there.
Authorities did not identify those who died and did not immediately know the total number of people injured.
The town’s fire chief, Kevin Dippolito, said at the Tuesday evening news conference that five people were still unaccounted for, but he cautioned that some may have left the scene with family members.
Shapiro asked his fellow Pennsylvanians to take a moment to pray “for this community, for those who are still missing, for those who are injured, and for those families who are about to celebrate Christmas with an empty chair at their table.”
Dippolito described a chaotic rescue where firefighters found people stuck in stairwells and elevator shafts and pulled residents out of the fiery building through windows and doors. Two people were rescued from a collapsed section of building, he said.
Firefighters handed off patients to waiting police officers outside, including one “who literally threw two people over his shoulders,” Dippolito said. “It was nothing short of extraordinary.” A second explosion erupted during the rescue, he said.
Bucks County emergency management officials said they first received a report of an explosion at approximately 2:15 p.m.
Willie Tye, who lives about a block away, said he was sitting at home watching a basketball game on TV when he heard a “loud ka-boom.”
“I thought an airplane or something came and fell on my house,” Tye said.
He got up to go look and saw “fire everywhere” and people escaping the building. “Just got to keep praying for them,” Tye said.
The local gas utility, PECO, said while its crews were responding to reports of a gas odor at the nursing home, an explosion happened.
“PECO crews shut off natural gas and electric service to the facility to ensure the safety of first responders and local residents. It is not known at this time if PECO’s equipment, or natural gas, was involved in this incident,” the utility said in a statement.
One worker sustained non-life-threatening injuries, the utility said.
Investigators from the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission's went to the scene. Finding that the explosion was caused by a gas leak won’t be confirmed until the agency can examine the scene, a utility commission spokesperson said.
Musuline Watson, who said she was a certified nursing assistant at the facility, told WPVI-TV/ABC 6 that, over the weekend, she and others there smelled gas, but “there was no heat in the room, so we didn’t take it to be anything.”
The 174-bed nursing home is about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northeast of Philadelphia. It is newly affiliated with Saber Healthcare Group and had been known until recently as Silver Lake Healthcare Center.
In a statement, Saber called the explosion “devastating.” It said facility personnel had promptly reported a gas smell to PECO before the explosion and that it was working with authorities to ensure the safety and well-being of staff, residents and the community.
The latest state inspection report for the facility was in October, and the Pennsylvania Department of Health found that it was not in compliance with several state regulations.
The inspection report said the facility failed to provide an accurate set of floor plans and properly maintain several stairways.
It said the facility failed to maintain portable fire extinguishers on one of the three levels and failed to provide the required “smoke barrier partitions,” which are designed to contain smoke on two floors.
According to Medicare.gov, the facility underwent a standard fire safety inspection in September 2024, during which no citations were issued. Medicare’s overall rating of the facility is listed as “much below average,” with poor ratings for health inspections in particular.
Levy and Scolforo reported from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Associated Press reporters Holly Ramer in Concord, N.H., Michael Casey in Boston and Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City contributed.
Emergency personnel work at the scene of an explosion and fire at Bristol Health & Rehab Center, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, in Bristol, Pa. (Monica Herndon/The Philadelphia Inquirer)
First responders work at the scene of an explosion and fire at Bristol Health & Rehab Center, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, in Bristol, Pa. (Monica Herndon/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)
First responders work the scene of an explosion and fire at Bristol Health & Rehab Center, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, in Bristol, Pa. (Monica Herndon/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)
Montgomery County search and rescue join first responders at the scene of an explosion and fire at Bristol Health & Rehab Center, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, in Bristol Township, Pa. (Monica Herndon/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)
First responders work the scene of an explosion and fire at Bristol Health & Rehab Center, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, in Bristol Township, Pa. (Monica Herndon/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)
CORRECTS NAME OF FACILITY - First responders gather at the scene of an explosion at Bristol Health & Rehab Center in Bristol Township, Pa., Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Tassanee Vejpongsa)
First responders gather at the scene of an explosion at Silver Lake Healthcare Center in Bristol Township, Pa., Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Tassanee Vejpongsa)
First responders are on the scene of a fire after an explosion at a nursing home in Bristol Township, Pa., on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (WPVI-TV/6ABC via AP)
