Rashad McCants scored 23 points off the bench, and Al Jefferson added 21 and 14 rebounds for the Wolves (5-23), who won for the first time in nine games under Kevin McHale and for the first time period since a 105-103 triumph Nov. 28 at Oklahoma City.

McCants hit 7 of 9 three-point attempts, and Minnesota made 54.2 percent (13 of 24) as a team to end the third-longest losing streak in franchise history.

The Wolves will be back home tonight against Orlando (23-6) to try for their first two-game winning streak of the season.

Al Harrington and Nate Robinson scored 26 points apiece for the Knicks (11-17), who lost their fifth straight.

New York shot to an early 6-2 lead and stretched it to 15-8 with a 7-0 run featuring a Wilson Chandler three-pointer and two free throws sandwiched around a David Lee dunk.

The Wolves ran off the next nine points, however, capped by a Ryan Gomes three-pointer that gave the visitors their first lead, 17-15.

Tim Thomas put the Knicks up one with a three-pointer from the top of the key, and they scored the final five points of the quarter for a 30-25 lead.

Rodney Carney and McCants hit two three-pointers apiece to open the second period for the Wolves, who tied the score 37-37 on Carney's second three-pointer with 9:11 to play in the half.

Kevin Love hit 3 of 4 free throws to put Minnesota up by three, and Carney drained another three to make it 43-38.

A Harrington dunk cut Minnesota's lead to two, but the Wolves answered with a 10-0 run capped by four Sebastian Telfair free throws to go up 53-41 with 4:50 left in the half.

Thomas hit a free throw to break the drought, but Jefferson made two free throws and McCants nailed two threes ,and the Wolves were up 63-45.

The final 2:21 of the half belonged to the Knicks, as Harrington scored nine points during a 10-0 run that cut the Minnesota lead to 63-55 at intermission.

Carney and McCants each went 3 of 4 from three-point range in the half, and the Wolves hit 8 of 14 as a team.

Chandler had 16 first-half points and Harrington 12 to keep the Knicks within range.

Chris Duhon missed the final 4:13 of the half for New York after taking an inadvertent elbow to the face from McCants, but he returned at the start of the second half with nine stitches and a bandage on his left eyebrow.

At that point, there was still a lot of fight in the Knicks, but the Wolves withstood their early push and Jefferson scored seven points during a 9-0 run that stretched the lead back to 82-64 with 4:34 to play in the third.

McCants hit two more threes to keep it there and then another to make it 92-70 and help Minnesota to a 94-75 cushion entering the final quarter.

A furious Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni called time out just nine seconds into the quarter, after a Telfair layup, and the Knicks responded with nine straight points to cut it to 96-84.

McCants hit a three and Jefferson added a layup and free throw to push the lead back to 15 with 8:06 remaining and seemingly leave New York for dead.

The Knicks had one more run left in them, though, cutting their deficit to seven with 4:35 to play before a Gomes three-pointer and Craig Smith layup and free throw sealed the deal.