Karl-Anthony Towns and the Timberwolves needed this win: ‘Keep after it, and maybe the tide turns’

DALLAS — Karl-Anthony Towns’ game, his future with the Minnesota Timberwolves franchise and his responsibility in this team going from toast of the NBA to toast in the Western Conference finals had been examined in the last few days.

The silly fouls, the shooting, the ghastly percentages were all on the front burner. The player he’s been for nine years was suddenly being dissected by those who’ve always been tantalized by his talent but frustrated by the lack of results his talent seems to demand.

More than anyone on that roster, even more than permanent whipping boy Rudy Gobert, Towns needed this. Not just to perform, but to make an impact on winning. Valor in a sweep would only go so far.

And then, in a 15-minute span where he was one foul away from disqualification, in a game where his team was one loss from elimination, he dug deep and went to a place, a zip code he’s never visited since becoming a professional.

Anthony Edwards put it simply: “He was the reason we won tonight.”

Towns finally found the range at the time the Timberwolves needed it desperately, scoring 25 with five rebounds as Minnesota got on the board in this conference final with a 105-100 win, sending the series back to Minneapolis for Game 5 on Thursday night.

All three of his fourth-quarter triples occurred in a three-minute span — the first giving the Timberwolves a 92-90 lead and the final giving his team a little breathing room with 2:54 left and a six-point lead.

“He was super confident,” Edwards said. “He wasn’t worried about any shots previous to the ones he hit tonight. He played exceptionally well.”

The fourth quarters had been a bugaboo for the Timberwolves in this series, and you could easily make the case the struggles fell on Towns’ shoulders. The Dallas Mavericks made the decision Edwards would not beat them, and he couldn’t over the first three games.

He saw eyes, hands and feet all in his way, and with the way this team is structured, Towns has to be a dynamic scorer. What was a smart bet backfired for once on Dallas’ part, and for the first time in well over a week, the Timberwolves appeared to play…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/karl-anthony-towns-and-the-timberwolves-needed-this-win-keep-after-it-and-maybe-the-tide-turns-055829428.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-05-29 05:58:29

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.