Karl-Anthony Towns makes clutch 3 in return as Wolves edge Hawks

Towns had 11 points, eight assists and five rebounds in the victory.

The Timberwolves did their typical pregame introductions ahead of Friday night's game against the Atlanta Hawks, but for the first time in a while, the sellout crowd of 18,024 at Target Center in Minneapolis got to hear the call for a former Kentucky Wildcat, Karl-Anthony Towns.

Fans were delighted to welcome the All-Star back into the starting lineup after a monthlong absence due to a torn left meniscus. They were even more delighted when Towns hit a clutch 3-pointer with just under three minutes remaining that gave the Timberwolves a 101-100 lead.

Minnesota held on from there in a 109-106 victory over the Hawks.

A victory for the Timberwolves was expected. The Denver Nuggets' 121-120 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, however, was not. The Oklahoma City Thunder, meanwhile, crushed the Milwaukee Bucks 125-107, setting up a three-way tie for first place in the Western Conference standings.

That leaves the top seed in the conference up for grabs going into the final day of the regular season. If the Thunder, Wolves and Nuggets all win, they'll be the one, two and three seeds, respectively. That would also be the case if all three teams lose their final game of the regular season.

Now here's where things get interesting. If the Timberwolves and Thunder win but the Nuggets lose, the Wolves would be the top seed in the West, the Thunder the two seed and the Nuggets three. Same goes if the Timberwolves and Nuggets win and the Thunder lose, just with the Nuggets at the two seed and the Thunder at the three.

If the Wolves lose and the Nuggets and Thunder win, then the Thunder would be the top seed, the Nuggets would be the two and the Wolves would be the third seed. All outcomes are still on the table.

"We've got a really tough opponent that's coming here (Phoenix Suns), taken it to us twice. It's going to be a big game for them, irrespective of us, so they're going to be playing at a high level," Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. "We need to match that."

The Timberwolves (56-25) will have to do so while still trying to reintegrate Towns into the lineup. He was a little rusty on Friday, shooting just 4 for 11, but he made the biggest shot when it mattered most. He finished his night with 11 points, eight assists and five boards in 28 minutes.

"I thought it was a good first effort, you know, made a big shot in the corner," Finch said. "That's what we're gonna need him to do, stay patient, wait for the ball to come to him, be ready to knock it down. So all in all, it was a good first outing."

Anthony Edwards provided a pair of clutch jumpers, too, nailing a shot with 49.5 seconds remaining that gave the Timberwolves a 105-102 lead. The Hawks (36-45) again cut it to 105-104 with 19.7 seconds remaining but were forced to intentionally foul Edwards, who made both of his free throws to push it back to a 107-104 advantage with 18.6 seconds left to play.

The Timberwolves got a stop on the ensuing Hawks possession, and Rudy Gobert grabbed the defensive rebound and made both free throws to essentially ice the game. Gobert was an offensive catalyst for the Timberwolves on Friday, throwing down dunk after dunk that kept them in the game.

Gobert finished with a game-high 25 points, 19 rebounds and five blocks.

"I said this the other day: There's a difference between being the reason that you win and being the reason that you don't lose," Finch said. "And Rudy is the reason that we don't lose."

The Timberwolves will need Gobert and Co. to not lose one more game on Sunday against the Suns.

"I think we still need some help (to get the top seed in the West) as I understand it, so the only way you get help is if you help yourself first, and then we'll see what happens," Finch said.