Things didn’t go the way Karl-Anthony Towns would have wanted them to. In addition to the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Game 4 loss on Sunday, the big man had a relatively quiet outing, finishing with 13 points while shooting 27.8% (5-of-18) from the floor. Still, his postgame comments showed accountability. Asked about his performance, Towns wasn’t shy in taking responsibility for his field-goal woes — one of the culprits in Sunday’s loss.
“Things weren’t falling today,” Towns said, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “I take responsibility for that. I know I put the work in, so I feel good about the work I put in. It’s shown (in) this playoffs, obviously.”
He continued, adding words that revealed a personal side to his frustrations.
“It’s unfortunate that on Mother’s Day, I have a shooting performance like that. But it’s the way the game goes. It’s not a fun game sometimes, but it definitely has some great rewards. So I’m excited to go back out there in two days and find ourselves, hopefully, on the right side.”
The mention of Mother’s Day showed what Game 4 must have meant for Towns. Back during the COVID-19 pandemic, he lost several family members, including his mother, to the disease. While Towns would have certainly wanted to dedicate a big performance to her, there are days when a basketball player just can’t find his shooting touch. Unfortunately for Towns, Sunday was one of those days.
On the positive side, his mindset for the upcoming clashes is a good sign. And knowing what a player like Towns is capable of, that three-ball stroke will surely return in no time.
Towns and the Timberwolves fall in Game 4
Anthony Edwards led the way for Minnesota, ending his night with a stellar 44 points. In fact, behind Edwards, five other Timberwolves players finished in double figures. However, none of them scored half as much as Edwards’ output. The team’s second-highest scorer, Mike Conley, tallied 15 points. Karl-Anthony Towns followed with 13, while Rudy Gobert, Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid all added 11 points each.
On the other side, the team had trouble containing Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon. Jokic finished with 35 points while Gordon exploded for 27 points on 11-of-12 (91.7%) shooting from the floor. Denver’s bench came up big as well, much to the misery of Target Center spectators.
The Timberwolves were in front for most of the first quarter, but their last taste of the lead occurred with under three minutes remaining in the period. Denver took control, ending the quarter with a five-point advantage. The Nuggets would continue their momentum, outscoring the Timberwolves 35-25 in the second quarter.
Throughout the rest of the game, Denver stayed in front, often by double figures. Each time Minnesota tried to trim the lead, Jokic and Co. always responded.
As a team, the Timberwolves made 47.6% of their field-goal attempts while shooting 39.3% from downtown. They noticably struggled with free-throw shooting, making just 18 out of their 27 tries (66.7%) from the charity stripe.
With both teams tied at two wins apiece, the series shifts back to Denver for Game 5, which tips off on Tuesday, May 14.
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