The Minnesota Timberwolves keep their season alive Tuesday night as they beat the Dallas Mavericks, 105-100, though the series deficit is still large at 3-1. Looking at it from a positive note though, it was the much needed performance from Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns that broke him out of the slump he was currently in through the Western Conference Finals.
In the Timberwolves Game 3 loss to the Mavericks, Towns scored 14 points, making five of his 18 shots from the field and even the most eye-opening statistic was he did not make any three-pointers out of eight attempts. After the game, the 29-year old spoke to the media and said there was “no time to have any doubts” after a disappointing performance and the way to bounce back was just to “shoot my shot” according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.
“No time to have any doubts in your mind, especially this time,” Towns said. “It’s Game 4, down 3-0, ain’t no time to have any doubts. Go out there and be aggressive, shoot my shot like I’ve been doing all series, being confident in every shot I shoot.”
Towns would finish the game with 25 points, making nine of 13 from the field and from beyond the arch, he drained four out of his five attempts.
Anthony Edwards talks about Towns being “super confident”
One could argue that besides the obvious reason of teammate Anthony Edwards, Towns' dynamic ability as the No. 2 option was the reason Minnesota had immense success this season. Speaking of Edwards who scored 29 points, collected 10 rebounds, and recorded nine assists, he said after Towns “was super confident.”
“Everything came together for him,” Edwards said of his teammate. “He was super confident, he wasn’t worried about any of the shots previous to the shots he hit tonight, he played exceptionally well, and he came through big time, he was the reason we won tonight.”
When he has a down performance, it is almost like a row of dominoes where the rest of the team falls behind him as said by Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch, “he's been a huge part of every series up until then.” Towns has no doubt got a bad wrap over the years for not showing out on the big stage as Tuesday night was a “great step for him” according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
“Really proud of him,” Finch said. “He’s been a huge part of every series up until then and we knew we had to get him into this series. Tonight was a great step for him.”
“KAT's a great player,” Finch continued. “His struggles were not going to last forever. He got himself going. Even when he got deep in foul trouble, we left him out there. … Just let him roll, and he played smart, played under control, rebounded really well for us, executed defensively. Really proud of him. Tonight was a great step for him.”
Towns talks playing alongside Edwards on the Timberwolves
Besides a great performance from Towns, it was part of the one-two punch alongside Edwards who was not as explosive this series leading to the initial 3-0 deficit. The 22-year old player would say himself throughout the postseason that he is passing up a lot of shots, but that was not the case in Game 4 where he even had the game-sealing shot to put the outing on ice
“I was on the bench and had a front-row seat watching that when I fouled out,” Towns said of Edwards' shot as he watched it from the bench as he was fouled out. “I feel like he was visualizing that make and he got to exactly the spot he wanted to. I'm honored to be playing with my brother here, seeing him every day put the work in, and I knew when he got to that shot it was a high likelihood he was going to make that.”
Edwards and Towns finally being aggressive for Minnesota
The plan for Edwards and even Towns all along was to be aggressive, but also trying to balance the recklessness that could come with that mindset. That balance was put on display as the young superstar in the making had a great night defensively and being a play-maker as Finch complimented the outing.
“We wanted him to be aggressive,” Finch said of Edwards via The Athletic. “He made some great plays, great shots. They were putting multiple bodies on him. There were guys open, too, so I thought we had all sorts of options with that.”
Mike Conley talks about the Timberwolves' resiliency
While Edwards and Towns are the two main engines of the team, the rest of the Timberwolves were thriving as every player in the starting lineup ended up scoring in double-digits. Especially veteran point-guard Mike Conley who put up 14 points to go along with seven assists and even four steals as he talked about the “resiliency” Minnesota had while also crediting his head coach as the “leader,” even during a time where he can not 100 percent be present because of his injury according to Star Tribune.
“It took a lot of resiliency from our guys,” said point guard Mike Conley, who was key with 14 points, seven assists and four steals, and not turning the ball over once. “There was a lot of moments there where the game could have went the other way or we could have let go. And guys wouldn't let the refs or big plays or anything get in our way. We just kept moving forward.”
“Finchy, he's our leader,” Conley said. “He's the guy that's made this thing work from the beginning. To have him be on the sideline, but behind the bench, for the majority of these playoffs, you forget the impact it can have when your coach is up getting technicals, yelling and we see him hobble around to do it, it's impressive. It lit a fire in all of us.”
A miracle incoming for Minnesota?
No one can take away the fact that the Timberwolves beat the Mavericks Tuesday night, but still, the series is still at 3-1 where no team has ever came back from a 3-0 deficit. The last team that was close was the Boston Celtics last season in the Eastern Conference Finals where they forced a Game 7 after being down 3-0 to the eighth seeded Miami Heat.
However, Game 5 will be back in Minnesota Thursday night and if they can get to a Game 7, it would be on their home floor. There is no doubt that fans are pulling for a miracle as the Timberwolves have never been to the NBA Finals before.
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