Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

The NBA world was shaken last week when two of the game’s best young big men got into a pretty major spat, resulting in matching two-game suspensions.

Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns got tangled up with Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid in a game on Oct. 30. The scene was pretty darn crazy (watch here).

Returning to practice on Tuesday, Towns made it clear where he stands. He’s neither apologizing nor backing down.

“Listen I’m going to defend myself. I ain’t going to take nothing. That’s a very talented player,” Towns said, via Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. “I just had to defend myself in that situation.”

No lies detected. Towns has to stand up for himself in similar situations, especially going up against a player such as Embiid who likes to get under the skin of opponents.

That type of fight has been missing during an otherwise brilliant career for Towns in the Twin Cities. This could act as a turning point for the All-Star.

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