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T-Wolves' Karl-Anthony Towns on Clippers' Play-in Game Defense: 'It Didn't Work'
April 14, 2022
Minnesota Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns had one of his worst performances of the year in Tuesday's play-in tournament victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. But Towns believes the win outweighed his individual subpar play.
When speaking to reporters on Thursday, Towns was asked about the Clippers' belief that eliminating him from the game would lead them to victory. He responded, "It didn’t work. It doesn’t irritate me at all. I went home very happy."
Towns was held to 11 points on 3-of-11 shooting and fouled out of the game early in the fourth quarter. Despite his struggles, Minnesota managed to escape with a 109-104 win to secure the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference. Towns went on to praise the Clippers for how they forced him to adjust his game.
"Shoutout to the Clippers, too," he said. "They've done the best job all year of anybody with how they want to get the job done on me. And it forced my hand with passing."
While Towns was having a rough night, Anthony Edwards led the Timberwolves with 30 points and D'Angelo Russell added 29 points. Minnesota overcame a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter and ended the game on a 26-11 run.
The Timberwolves will face the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the playoffs. It's just the second time that Minnesota has reached the postseason since 2004, the last time coming in 2018.
If the Timberwolves want to make a deep run in the West, Towns will need to be in his All-Star form. But he's confident in his ability to bounce back the next time he takes the floor.
"I'm not tripping at all. In a good space," Towns said. "Just good to get past the last two days and I'm ready to go."