Karl-Anthony Towns accused of 'lying' after Game 3 loss

Karl-Anthony Towns is shooting 4-of-32 from deep over his last five games, which marks the worst percentage (12.5) from deep over a five-game span in NBA playoffs history (minimum 30 attempts). 

During Minnesota's Game 3 loss on Sunday, Towns went 5-of-18 from the floor and 0-of-8 from deep. Those shooting woes manifested in the worst possible way down the stretch as Towns went scoreless in the final five minutes while attempting four shots. Minnesota was outscored 14-3 during that stretch. 

After the game, Towns expressed confidence in his shooting stroke, maintaining that he's just undergoing a cold stretch.  

"I just gotta laugh," Towns told reporters of his shooting woes. "I'm putting up to 1,500 shots a day [in practice]. [I] shot so well all playoffs, confidence extremely high, and to be having these unfortunate bounces and these looks that are just not going in, it's tough. It's tough, for sure. I'm good confidence-wise. I just got to keep shooting."

Towns' claim of attempting 1,500 shots in practice was called out by the "Inside the NBA" crew on TNT, who accused the Timberwolves star of fabricating the truth.  

"KAT capping," Draymond Green said. "Nobody is shooting 1,500 shots right now [at the tail end of the season]."

Kenny Smith — the only good perimeter shooter on the panel — agreed with the Warriors star.  

"To make 300 [shots] in a day takes about 45 minutes," Smith said recalling his years as a shooter. "So if you're taking 1,500, it's going to take you about two-and-a-half hours. That's cap!"

Charles Barkley chimed in as well.

"First of all, he's lying," Barkley said. "Let's just say hypothetically, he's telling the truth. If he's shooting 1,500 threes, that's the problem — it's the type of shots he's getting." 

Barkley added that he'd rather see KAT taking shots from the mid-range or the post, instead of jacking up so many threes. 

In most instances, shooters are allowed to gun themselves out of a cold stretch. The Timberwolves, on the brink of elimination, no longer have that luxury of letting KAT regain his rhythm.