The Minnesota Timberwolves breathed a collective sigh of relief after learning Karl-Anthony Towns did not suffer a major injury in a hard fall during Wednesday’s 115-107 loss to the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena.
Towns, who had a game-high 34 points at the time of the scary scene, fell to the court after losing his grip on the rim after a dunk and falling on his lower back with less than three minutes remaining in the game.
The Timberwolves star walked gingerly to the bench and later down the tunnel as Minnesota went on to a tough road loss.
ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski reported that x-rays on Towns’ lower back came back negative.
Towns confirmed Woj’s reporting during his postgame press conference, during which the big man appeared to be in clear discomfort.
“I feel better than I thought I was going to feel,” Towns said. “I was in extreme pain for sure. …X-Rays were negative and just got to have to deal with it.”
Chris Hine of the Star Tribune added in his reporting that Towns is unsure whether he’ll be able to play Friday on the road against the Brooklyn Nets. Any lengthy absence would be a tough blow for Minnesota, as the team has rebounded from a rough start to the season, winning seven of 10 to reach 11-11 despite Wednesday’s loss to Washington.
Towns has appeared in all 22 games for the T-Wolves this season, averaging 24 points, nine rebounds and 3.1 assists while shooting at a .508/.442/.817 clip. It is unclear at this time just how long Towns will have to sit.
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