Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns made his return to the court following a two-week absence in their 125-122 overtime defeat to the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday. Towns sustained a dislocated left wrist in their second game of the season against the Utah Jazz and missed Minnesota's past six contests.
According to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, the 2015 No. 1 overall was originally told he would be out six to eight weeks. However, KAT reportedly pushed to get back on the floor sooner. After consulting with experts, he had a decision to make Saturday about returning to the floor way ahead of that initial timetable, knowing it could jeopardize his long-term health.
Towns ultimately did what he thought was best for his team:
“The actual words I said was, ‘Fuck it.’ I just put my jersey on and said, ‘It’s time to go play,'” Towns said. “Obviously, it wasn’t the best decision for my personal health at all. But it was the best decision I could make for my team, so that’s what I did.”
It had been evident that the Timberwolves badly needed Towns' presence on the floor given they dropped all six games with the star center out. KAT looked like he didn't miss a beat, as he finished with 25 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, and three blocks in 37 minutes. There were multiple points throughout the game where Towns was favoring his wrist and also exercised caution in using his left hand. On one play, Spurs big man LaMarcus Aldridge hit him on the injured hand, causing Towns to immediately grimace in pain.
Towns' heroic efforts weren't enough in a 125-122 overtime loss to Minnesota. Nevertheless, the Timberwolves finally have their star big man back after missing him for those six games. They certainly missed his presence, as evidenced by the way they were able to keep in step with San Antonio.
Let's just hope he can stay healthy moving forward.
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