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Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns was the subject of endless slander after the shocking Game 3 collapse against the Memphis Grizzlies. Towns took just four shots as the Timberwolves got outscored 50-16 to end the game after being up 25 with three minutes left in the third quarter.
Towns heard all of the criticism and then took it to heart in Game 4, playing angry and imposing his will on the court. The Timberwolves star finished with 33 points and 14 rebounds to join Kevin Garnett as the only two players in franchise history to post a 30-and-10 game in the playoffs.
Afterward, Towns discussed the “rage” he played with, via ESPN's Kevin Arnovitz:
Article Continues Below“A bunch of rage,” Towns said of his mood coming into Game 4. “Trying to find ways to dominate regardless of what they throw [at me] — double, triple, quadruple, coach comes on the court and guards me, as well — and find ways to put the ball in the bucket.”
Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch saw that anger as well:
“He was angry,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch said of Towns' attitude before the contest. “He was really good from the beginning: aggressive, putting pressure on them, forcing them to blow the whistle, get to the free throw line, things that he hadn't been doing a lot in the last couple of games.”
KAT shot 8-of-17 from the field but also took 17 foul shots, sinking 14 of them. He knocked down the last two in the final seconds to seal the win. Getting to the line that much is the sign of a player putting forth the proper aggression when possessing that kind of talent. The Grizzlies had no answers, racking up 33 fouls in the game.
This series is now tied at 2-2 with things shifting back to Memphis. It has been a roller-coaster postseason for KAT, and Minnesota needs him to channel that Hulk-like rage and just be angry all the time.
