MINNEAPOLIS — Karl-Anthony Towns, averaging 15.0 points per game through Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals, delivered the dynamic performance he needed to help the Minnesota Timberwolves avoid elimination with a 105-100 win over the Dallas Mavericks. Despite struggling with foul trouble, Towns scored 20 of his 25 points in the second half.
“We’re going to play aggressively,” Towns said. “Especially now, being down 3-0 in Game 4, this is not the time to have doubts in your mind.”
Minnesota believed Towns would get back on track at some point in this series, as any great player would, and he did. Throughout the series, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch stressed the importance of Towns easing up, and he felt that happened in Game 4.
“KAT’s a great player,” Finch said. “His struggles didn’t last forever. He worked himself up. Even when he got into foul trouble, we left him out there. … We just left him alone and he played smart, controlled, rebounded really well for us, played well defensively. Really proud of him. Tonight was a big step for him.”
Edwards echoed Finch’s sentiments, praising Towns for staying aggressive and not dwelling on his recent performances. “He was very confident,” he said. “He wasn’t worried about any shots prior to the ones he made tonight. He played very well.”
Towns hit two catch-and-shoot 3-pointers late in Game 4 to put the Timberwolves in a good position to win, then made three shots from the perimeter for 10 points, turning the tide and giving Minnesota the lead again. Luka Doncic acknowledged Dallas needed to tighten up on Towns.
“I think he made a couple of big threes for them when we were up by one,” Doncic said of Towns. “That was really crucial. We’ve got to work harder against him.”
Kyrie Irving paid tribute to the skill set Towns brings to the Timberwolves and said some of the criticism the star big man has received is unfair.
“Despite the criticism he’s received, sometimes unfair criticism, not shooting particularly well or not shooting in the first three games, he’s a great player,” Irving said of Towns. “I respect him, my guys respect them, my teammates respect him.”
With Derek Lively II out with a neck sprain, the Mavericks were less able to protect the paint and struggle to keep shooters on the defensive end, and Towns was able to attack the paint more effectively than he had in previous performances.
“Some of the shots he took tonight, he missed in the first three games. He was getting close to the basket and we had big men blocking his shots so it was a little tough,” Irving said.
Entering Game 5, Irving emphasized the importance of getting a better grasp on where Towns is on the court and how the Timberwolves are moving to allow him to take clean shots. Minnesota has used flare screens and corner pin-ins frequently this series to create space for Towns, but he struggled to make shots consistently through Game 4.
“Even in the fourth quarter, if you look back at some of the plays he took advantage of, he had opportunities at the top of the key,” Irving said. “They ran the same play, but then we had some flare screens where he was the receiver for the catch-and-shoot. We had to be mindful of where he was moving on the court.”
“He’s going to get behind the defense and get some easy points, that’s what great players do,” Irving explained. “They figured it out and it’s going to be a series… We were hoping that at least he would come out offensively and put his team in a great position to win the game, and he did, so that’s good for us moving forward.”
Lively was listed as questionable on the injury report on Thursday, so it remains to be seen if he will be available for Game 5. Whether he is available or not, the Mavericks will have to slow Towns down in Game 5 given that Anthony Edwards will have him anyway.
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