Julian AndrewsWeb Editorial AssociateTwitter
In Karl-Anthony Towns’ first two seasons with the Wolves, he never had a chance to play in the postseason. This year, Towns and the Timberwolves made the postseason their priority. Now, that goal is a reality.
“Back when I got drafted I made a promise to Flip [Saunders] that I would do everything in my power to bring this town, this state, this organization another playoffs, to end the playoff drought,” he said. “I’m very fortunate and blessed with the teammates I have here and a great organization that I’m able to do that.”
Towns played incredibly well in the Wolves’ season-defining victory on Wednesday night. He scored 26 points on 63.2-percent shooting and gathered 14 rebounds. Beyond his stat line, he bullied the Nuggets inside, scoring on everyone they threw at him and pulling down important rebounds surrounded by Denver players. At the end of the night, Towns earned his celebration with his parents and his teammates on the floor of Target Center.
Towns led the Timberwolves this year with an NBA-high 68 double-doubles. Going into Wednesday’s game, he held averages of 21.2 points, 12.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.4 blocks per game. He’s only beginning to scratch the ceiling of what he is capable of, and Wolves fans should be very, very excited for a future with KAT in the middle.
After the game, Towns admitted he was having trouble processing all of his emotions. The adrenaline of a game like Wednesday’s is hard to come down from. It’ll take some time for the reality of what he helped build—the Wolves’ first playoff appearance in 14 years—to sink in.
“It was a lot of emotions,” he said. “I’ll probably fall asleep and in the middle of the night and wake up and start crying.”
But in terms of basketball, Towns is ready for what comes next.
“When you have a game like this you learn a lot of things, especially about ourselves,” he said. “Knowing we can get those stops and do those little things like we did tonight, it gives us a lot of momentum going in.”
Look out Houston, Towns is ready.