Towns' Historic 62-Point Game Overshadowed by Timberwolves' Defensive Struggles
Towns' record-breaking 62-point performance fades in the shadow of Timberwolves' defensive lapses, raising questions about team expectations and playoff ambitions.
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Monday night was a high-scoring night in the NBA. Joel Embiid hung 70 points on the San Antonio Spurs, breaking Wilt Chamberlain’s single-game franchise scoring record. Kevin Durant scored 43 to escape the Bulls at home and Jayson Tatum dropped 39 points in Dallas. Oh, and Karl-Anthony Towns scored 62 points against the Hornets.
However, of those four, Towns was the only one whose team lost.
I wouldn't say I like this for him because this happened to a Karl-Anthony Towns team. Towns has been an All-NBA player and self-proclaimed things like being “the greatest big-man shooter of all time” while not producing to expectations in the playoffs as his teams lose in the first round.
Look at Embiid’s performance on Monday. Though Embiid has feasted on inferior opponents, the Hornets and Spurs are in the same tier, but Embiid took care of business. Not only did the Sixers win, Embiid got to rest early. Towns did not have that luxury because his team could not put the Hornets away. Scoring a bunch of points in the regular season is one thing, but you are more likely to met with derision than praise if your team loses.
The Poster Child
If you asked an NBA fan which player would have his team in first place for two consecutive months and score 62 points in a loss to an opponent who entered the game with nine wins, Towns might be one of the first names they mentioned. This is unfortunate because Towns is a great player and with Mike Conley out and Anthony Edwards shooting just 3-for-11, they needed a big scoring night from Towns. To make matters worse, Towns scored just four points in the fourth as the Hornets overtook the Timberwolves.
On its face, Towns’ scoring feat is a big deal for this franchise. Look at these notes:
This was Towns’ second-career 60-point game and a new franchise record.
Monday was Towns’ third game scoring 50+ points and is the only player in team history with multiple 50-point games.
Towns now owns the top-three scoring games in franchise history.
Towns is the seventh player in NBA history to score multiple 60-point games in their career and the first Timberwolf.
Towns is the first player in NBA history to score 10 2-pointers, 10 3-pointers and 10 free throws in one game.
Unfortunately, Towns’ performance will likely be lost to time because the Timberwolves lost. Fair or unfair, that is how most people view these things.
To be clear, Towns and his scoring are not why this team lost. Despite its record, we have seen this team play lethargically, even at home, and Monday was a lot of that. There was not much energy on the defensive end and close-outs and contests appeared half-hearted, as if the Timberwolves’ talented advantage would eventually give them the game.
"It was an absolute disgusting performance of defense and immature basketball. All the way through the game, so it really didn’t slip away, it had been there from the jump,” said Wolves coach Chris Finch. “This is what happens when you have this type of approach.”
“We wasn’t focused from the jump. We was never focused,” said Anthony Edwards. “[Karl-Anthony Towns] just had a great night, we wasn’t focused.”
The Time For Moral Victories Has Passed
When asked how the game slipped away, Edwards said, “Man, I have no clue. All I remember is being up like 20 in the fourth and they just walked us down.”
In a vacuum, one loss, even to a team like the Hornets, is not the end of the world. It’s one game in mid-January. Plus, the Timberwolves have made a habit of beating teams they should all season. However, this comes after a game against Oklahoma City that they needed to win and lost despite holding the Thunder to 39.5 percent shooting from the field because they turned the ball over 21 times. On Monday, the Wolves had just 13 turnovers but allowed 18 points off of them; that is your game right there.
While this team does have experience, we know that key players on this team are still young. There is a measure of grace that comes with that, but you don’t make the Rudy Gobert trade and hold onto first place in the Western Conference for two months and not get expectations. It’s not like Towns scoring 62 points in a loss for another 30-win team is the feel-good story of the season; this is a team that should win at least one playoff series. If not, it will still be a good season but will feel like this was all for naught. That is a tough place to be in.
The optimistic view is that the team is getting this sloppiness and lethargy out of their systems now instead of April. But they need to figure out what to do when Conley needs a night off or secondary scoring when Edwards can’t buy a bucket. As-is, this is at least a top-3 team in team history and Towns’ scoring prowess was on display for much of Monday night. However, it is time for the Timberwolves play like the team we know they can be.