Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns turned in a career night Wednesday. The performance couldn't have come at a more crucial time for his team.
The 22-year-old center scored a franchise-record 56 points and added 15 rebounds in Minnesota's 126-114 win over Atlanta. Towns was 19 for 32 from the field and connected on six of his eight 3-point attempts.
The 56 points eclipsed the 52 Mo Williams scored for the Wolves on Jan. 13, 2015.
The Wolves (43-33) entered the day with a 1 1/2-game lead over the Clippers for the Western Conference's final playoff spot. They've been struggling since losing Jimmy Butler (torn meniscus) in late February. On Monday, they suffered a home loss to the Grizzlies, their fourth loss in six games. Towns finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds on 38.5 percent shooting from the field that night.
With another lottery-bound opponent visiting the Target Center on Wednesday, Towns had to improve upon his Monday performance to help the Wolves avoid another letdown. He more than did that, and he did so in historic fashion:
Karl-Anthony Towns is the 10th player to score 50 in a game this season, tying an NBA record for most players to score 50 in a single season. There were also 10 such games last season. pic.twitter.com/RVKq8l0yxK
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 29, 2018
With a Timberwolves record 56 points, Karl-Anthony Towns also grabbed 15 rebounds. He's the youngest player with 50 points and 15 rebounds in a game since Shaquille O'Neal on April 20, 1994 vs the Timberwolves (O'Neal was 22 years, 45 days, Towns is 22 years, 133 days). pic.twitter.com/NCrSDiQSmG
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 29, 2018
Karl-Anthony #Towns se unió a Russell Westbrook y James Harden como los únicos jugadores en la historia con juego de 50+ Pts, 15+ Reb y 5+ triples. #NBA pic.twitter.com/FklItMQ4EM
— ESPN Datos (@ESPNDatos) March 29, 2018
The win helped Minnesota maintain its advantage over LA (the Clippers won in Phoenix), and it also moved the Wolves to a half-game behind the Pelicans for the West's fifth seed. With just two weeks remaining in the NBA's regular season, the victory — and Towns' record performance — might be just what they need to get to the finish line.
This article has been corrected to show the Clippers played Wednesday night.
