Karl-Anthony Towns Drops Franchise-Record 60 Points in Timberwolves' Win over Spurs

Karl-Anthony Towns had a historic performance in the Minnesota Timberwolves' 149-139 win over the San Antonio Spurs at AT&T Center on Monday night.

The 26-year-old scored a franchise-record 60 points in the win, along with 17 rebounds and three assists to help the Timberwolves improve to 40-30 on the season, though Minnesota remains seventh in the Western Conference.

Towns also holds Minnesota's franchise record for the most 40-point games. 

Towns did most of his work in the third quarter when he scored a whopping 32 points. According to ESPN Stats & Info, that is the fourth-most points scored in a single quarter over the last 25 seasons. Only Klay Thompson (37 points), Kevin Love (34 points) and Carmelo Anthony (33 points) have scored more in a single quarter in that span. 

In addition, the Timberwolves scored 121 points entering the final frame, the most points the team has scored through three quarters in franchise history. 

Towns also set the NBA's new season-high for points scored in a game, per The Athletic's Shams Charania. 

The three-time All-Star joins an impressive list of players who have recorded at least 60 points and 17 rebounds in a game, including Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal, Karl Malone and George Mikan. 

In addition to Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid and Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic, Towns is one of the most effective centers in the NBA. He's also the best three-point shooter among bigs and won the three-point competition at the 2022 NBA All-Star Skills Competition.

Towns has spent his entire seven-year career with the Timberwolves after being selected first overall in the 2015 Draft. Entering Saturday's contest, he was averaging 24.3 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists while shooting 52.7 percent from the floor and 40 percent from deep.