Monday night marked a career game for Karl-Anthony Towns. KAT started the game off blazing hot with 22 first-quarter points. With Towns powering the Minnesota Timberwolves offense early, they kept feeding him and he delivered. He doubled up his first-quarter showing with another 22-point quarter in the second. Going into halftime, Towns had a marvelous 44 points, the most points in any half in Timberwolves history. Starting the second half, Towns kept it rolling. Posting 14 more points in the 3rd, it seemed like the Wolves’ had the win in the bag against the Charlotte Hornets.

However, Minnesota’s 18-point lead was, in fact, not safe. With Towns’ previous career-high being 60 points, the Timberwolves aggressively searched for more scoring opportunities for their big man. Towns went cold though. Shooting just 2-10 in the fourth quarter, Minnesota’s offensive attack completely fell apart. While KAT scored 62 points on the night, setting a new franchise record, the Timberwolves fell short at home. Losing 128-125 to the Charlotte Hornets, KAT’s historic night falls into weird territory. Let’s analyze Karl-Anthony Towns' career night in the loss.

The reason KAT found successKarl-Anthony Towns looking fired up

Right out of the gate, Towns got to work and Charlotte simply did not have an answer for the talented seven-footer early. Behind his early success was one common theme: quick decisions. Towns was ready to make plays before catching the basketball to begin the game. His decisiveness made the game easier for the Timberwolves offense which has been sputtering.

Towns’ three-point shooting paved the way early in the game. Connecting on his first eight three-point attempts, every Charlotte defensive miscue was being taken advantage of. In this example, Towns uses Minnesota’s horns flare action to perfection by swiftly pulling the trigger on the triple without hesitation.

With KAT’s outside game thriving, Charlotte tried running him off the three-point line and taking up his air space. Again, Towns’ decisiveness on the offensive end prevailed in these scenarios. As the Hornets aggressively closed out on KAT, he simply attacked the close-out immediately. Driving at will, Towns continued to find success by aggressively attacking right on the catch. This post-up stood out as he caught and immediately spun into a big-time finish at the rim.

Minnesota failed down the stretch

Simply stated, Towns' ability to score at the level he did early on was due to his readiness to play off the catch. In the fourth quarter, that changed. Minnesota and Towns slowed their offensive attack down and it hurt them. While the Timberwolves’ offensive onslaught disappeared, the Hornets did not. Charlotte poured on an astounding 36 fourth-quarter points behind strong efforts from LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges, and Brandon Miller. 

That trio combined for 73 points as the Hornets came away with the win. Minnesota’s typical defensive greatness was nowhere to be seen. Dribble-drive penetration killed the T-Wolves as LaMelo Ball recorded a game-high 13 assists. Former number one overall pick Anthony Edwards dished out 11 assists of his own but failed to reach double-digit scoring. Shooting just 3-11, the Timberwolves star guard found himself out of rhythm due to Minnesota’s approach of scoring solely through Towns.

Context around Karl-Anthony Towns’ all-time game

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)
Timberwolves' Kyle Anderson next to Anthony Edwards and Devin Booker

Brett Siegel ·

Suns' Kevin Durant and Frank Vogel with Timberwolves' Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert

Ben Cooper ·

Chicago Bulls shooting guard Ayo Dosunmu wearing a Charlotte Hornets jersey with a basketball, next to Atlanta Hawks forward A.J. Griffin also wearing a Charlotte Hornets jersey. A couple of Charlotte Hornets logos added in the background.

Matt Guzman ·

Losing a game in which a star player has the best game of his career hurts. Losing a game in which a star player has the best scoring game of your franchise history hurts even more. One of the most recent examples of this was Devin Booker’s 70-point performance in a loss to the Boston Celtics on March 24, 2017. Booker’s game was a bit different though. With his team down, Booker continued to rack up points in hopes of a comeback. Ultimately, the Phoenix Suns lost that game 120-130 to the Celtics. Towns’ game is quite the opposite. With KAT propelling Minnesota to a big lead, the Wolves’ big man wanted to rack up more numbers while playing from ahead. This backfired tremendously. A game that seemed in the bag, quickly became a heart-breaking loss.

On a night when Joel Embiid went nuclear with 70 points of his own in the Philadelphia 76ers win over the San Antonio Spurs, Towns performance helped make history. Monday night marked just the fourth time in NBA history that two players scored 60 or more points on the same night. The first occurrence since April of 1978.

Towns’ 62-point showing didn’t lead to a win, but it does cement his legacy. Surpassing his own franchise record, KAT now holds the three highest scoring marks in Minnesota Timberwolves history. His performance was stunning, unbelievable and breathtaking. For the longest time, it felt like he could not miss. With a fourth-quarter meltdown, the seven-footer’s all-time game falls now into unusual territory.