Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the Minnesota Timberwolves drives to the basket while Josh Green #8 of the Dallas Mavericks defends in the third quarter at Target Center on January 31, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Timberwolves defeated the Mavericks … ((Photo by David Berding/Getty Images))
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - It’s Karl-Anthony Towns’ world, and Minnesota Timberwolves fans are more than happy to live in it.
Towns carried the Timberwolves with 29 points, nine rebounds and four assists in a 121-87 win over the Dallas Mavericks Wednesday night at Target Center that wasn’t the prettiest game they’ll play this season. The Mavericks were without Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, Dereck Lively II, Dante Exum and Derrick Jones all due to injuries, and with Dallas playing on the second night of a back-to-back.
After a slow start, the Timberwolves led 52-48 at the half.
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Karl-Anthony Towns talks Wolves win over Mavericks
Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns talked with Pierre Noujaim after Wednesday night's 121-87 win over the Mavericks at Target Center.
"One thing you’ve got to preach when you’re a coach is playing to your standard regardless of who the opponent is. Defensively we didn’t do that much in the first half. Picked it up in the second half just enough to be able to impose ourselves on the game," Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said after the win. "Credit to the guys, we can’t pick up sloppy habits when the game feels or seems like it’s going to come easy. Those are things we try to avoid. It was a big test to keep building a lead once we got it."
On a night where nothing was easy on either end of the floor for three quarters, Towns shot 11-of-15 from the field, and 4-of-6 from three-point range. The rest of the team combined to shoot 9-of-24.
"Just being aggressive. I thought I got the ball from my teammates in great spots that put me in position to score and be effective. Shout out to my teammates," Towns said.
Minnesota improves to 34-14 on the season, 18-4 at Target Center and have won seven of their past 10 games. Rudy Gobert added 17 points and six rebounds, and Anthony Edwards had nine points, five rebounds and five assists. Naz Reid scored 12 points off the bench, going 3-of-5 from the perimeter. In the bizarre stat of the night, Gobert made more shots from the free-throw line (7-of-12) than Edwards did from the field (3-of-5).
The Timberwolves did Wednesday night what good teams do. They didn’t have their best effort against a depleted Mavericks’ squad, and still found a way to win the game. They led 83-70 after three quarters, and started the fourth on an 11-0 run to put the game away. They won the second half 69-39.
"I thought we weren’t playing at the level that we could for us to be No. 1 in the West. I didn’t feel like we were playing at the level of a No. 1 team in the West. Our coaches felt the same way, at halftime they grilled us about not playing at the level we know we can play at," Towns said. "We responded and showed them the level we could play at."
The Timberwolves are 20 games over .500, 48 games into the regular season. It’s the latest in the season they've been 20 games over .500 since the 2003-04 team led by Kevin Garnett that went 58-24 and made it to the Western Conference Finals.
All-Star voting wraps up Thursday, and Towns, Gobert and Edwards all have good shots to be named to the Western Conference roster. Finch could also be the Western Conference coach, and was asked about that after Wednesday's win.
"It'd be a heck of an honor for sure, for myself, for the organization. But it'd also be just like any other individual accolade. It's a reflection of the success the team's having, which is the most important thing right now," Finch said.
It’s the first of a three-game home stand, with the Timberwolves hosting the Orlando Magic on Friday and Houston Rockets on Sunday.