Ant's big game overcomes KAT's rough night, Timberwolves beat Clippers
Karl-Anthony Towns had one of the worst games of his career on Tuesday night but a big from Anthony Edwards helped the Minnesota Timberwolves overcome, defeating the Los Angeles Clippers in an enthralling NBA play-in game.
Edwards came out of the gates on fire, scoring the first seven points for the Timberwolves. But while he supplied the offense early, the Clippers did a great job of shutting down the rest of the lineup.
That included Towns, who had a miserable first half. The star center shot 0-for-7 from the floor, scoring two points on a pair of free throws. To add insult to injury, Towns picked up four fouls and had to take an early seat on the bench.
The good news was that he wasn't alone. Scott Foster, Ed Malloy and Tom Washington welcomed everyone to the ref show, calling 29 fouls between the two teams in the first half – including three on Patrick Beverley.
But even though the Timberwolves were shorthanded, they still found enough offense to stay in the game.
A good chunk came from D'Angelo Russell. After scoring just one point in the first quarter, he scored 14 of his 29 points in the second including nine in a 15-3 run that helped Minnesota take a 53-51 lead into halftime.
But it didn't take long for Towns to get back into foul trouble. Towns picked up his fifth offensive foul charging into the paint to send him back to the bench with 3:47 left in the third quarter.
That left the door open for Paul George to take over. The Clippers' superstar scored 17 of his 34 points in the third quarter to help L.A. take an 84-78 lead into the fourth.
Towns re-entered the game at 9:27 of the fourth quarter but less than two minutes later, he went over the back for his sixth foul and ended the night with just 11 points on 3-of-11 shooting.
But once Towns left the game, the Timberwolves responded with a 13-2 run that ended with a thunderous slam by Edwards to give Minnesota a 99-95 lead.
The Timberwolves and Clippers traded blows before Minnesota held a 104-101 lead with 1:24 to go.
A pair of free throws from Edwards capped off a 29-point night and after a free-throw, Beverley finished off his old team with a steal to send the Timberwolves to the playoffs for the second time in the past 19 years.
Minnesota will now draw the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies, who they split their four games with during the regular season.
