Monday night was Karl-Anthony Towns’ night in Minneapolis, but it wasn’t the Minnesota Timberwolves’ night.
Despite a career-high 62 points from KAT, the Timberwolves fell short in a brutal collapse against a team they held an 18-point lead over in the second half. The Charlotte Hornets battled back into the game through a series of strong shot-making as Minnesota’s defense fell short. Towns’ historic night came crashing down as he shot just 2-of-10 in the fourth quarter.
Behind Minnesota’s offensive short-comings, the Hornets outscored the Wolves 36-18 in the final frame, propelling Charlotte to the narrow 128-125 win in Minnesota.
Chris Finch drops truth bomb on Timberwolves
Postgame, Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch was not happy in the slightest. After the Timberwolves squandered a big lead and wasted KAT's career showing, Finch kept it honest, first by calling out the team’s defense.
“That was a disgusting performance on defense and immature basketball,” the 54-year-old tactician said, per Alan Horton.
To Finch’s point, the league’s best defense simply did not show up against a bad Hornets team. Minnesota's porous defense allowed 128 points, the third most they’ve allowed in a game all season. Ball containment was at the heart of the issue again. LaMelo Ball got wherever he wanted all night long, generating a ton of clean shots for the Hornets. The Charlotte playmaker finished with 13 assists to go along with his 18 points.
Chris Finch put it brutally, “We got exactly what we deserved.” On a night where the offense was flowing behind an all-time game from Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota fell short due to a lack of focus. Poor defensive play kept Charlotte around and then once Towns' offensive output dried up in the fourth, the Wolves were left stranded with nowhere to go.
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