Karl-Anthony Towns comes through for Minnesota Timberwolves after years of criticism

DENVER – Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns was on a Rocky Mountain high following the biggest triumph of his NBA career that ended the reigning NBA champion Denver Nuggets’ season and earned his franchise just its second ticket to the Western Conference finals.

Towns hugged loved ones and members of the Timberwolves organization, such as owner Glen Taylor, after walking off the Ball Arena floor on Sunday night. The nine-year Timberwolves forward also reached up into the stands to high-five loud Minnesota fans. And as he entered the tunnel toward the visiting locker room, his father, Karl followed closely behind holding up a No. 1 finger after his son posted 23 points and 12 rebounds in the Timberwolves’ 98-90 comeback victory over the Nuggets.

“I don’t know if the cameras caught it, but I definitely had a moment,” Towns said in the postgame news conference. “I’ve been here nine years. I’ve talked about wanting to win and do something special here for the organization and for all the failures and all the things that didn’t materialize and happen and the disappointment that comes with it … Even in this moment you can celebrate the wins.

“For me, being here nine years, I’ve seen everything, I’ve seen it all.”

“F— them nine years,” Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards said jokingly without skipping a beat.

Before the Timberwolves finally reached the Western Conference finals, many of Towns’ nine years have included reasons for expletives.

The rebuilding Timberwolves selected Towns with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft. His teammate as a rookie was Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett, the franchise’s all-time leading scorer. Hours before Sunday’s Game 7 in the calm before the storm, Towns sat in the empty stands to call Garnett.

The four-time NBA All-Star called Garnett mostly to wish him a happy 48th birthday. But since Towns had him on the phone, he also asked him for advice about playing in Game 7. Garnett played in seven Game 7s in his NBA career, including 32 points, 21 rebounds, five blocks and four steals in his first Game 7, a second-round victory over the Sacramento Kings on May 19, 2004.

“I was talking to KG about visualizing success, visualizing celebration,” Towns told Andscape. “Visualize the moves you want to make, the places I want to score and where to get to. I will keep our conversation to us, but I will say I wanted to give him a special birthday present. We’ve been brothers forever since I got here …

“He told me, ‘A great person was born on this day [May 19], so it would not be surprising to do something great.’ That’s really good, Kev. I know who was born today. You.”

Before Towns left his seat after hanging up with Garnett, he took some time to speak to the heavens to his late mother, Jacqueline Cruz-Towns, for inspiration. Cruz-Towns died in 2020 due to complications from the coronavirus.

“I talk to her before every game and I know she has the best seat in the house,” Towns said. “I just want to perform my best and give all I got.”

Towns has often talked about bringing the first NBA championship to Minneapolis for the Timberwolves, but it has gone mostly on deaf ears outside of the city. Towns, the longest-tenured Timberwolves player on the roster, hasn’t come close. He has lost three first-round series in six games or fewer. Towns struggled offensively when the Timberwolves blew a 13-point lead before being eliminated in Game 6 of a first-round series against the Memphis Grizzlies in 2022. The Bleacher Report followed with an article on Towns titled, Fans Call Karl-Anthony Towns 1 of NBA’s Most Overrated Players After T-Wolves Loss.

The Nuggets eliminated the Timberwolves in five games during a first-round playoff series last year. Fans on social media and media members questioned whether Towns could produce when Minnesota needed him most. He has also had his share of injuries and his girlfriend, Jordyn Woods, has told him about some of the criticism.

“I don’t worry about that. I worry about my own life. I’m content,” Towns told Andscape. “I don’t need validation from nobody. I’m good. God got me. My mama got me. I don’t need no validation from outside …

“My girl be telling that s— about what people say. She says, ‘Babe …’ And I say, ‘Babe, I’m not looking for validation from nobody. That’s young people s—. I don’t need that. I’m good with where I’m at. We’re happy. My dad is healthy. My sister is healthy. That’s all the validation I need. You know my story. You think I’m worried about what people say. I got a lot more s— to worry about than that.’ ”

Towns was sitting in the visitors locker room next to NBA Defensive Player of the Year and teammate Rudy Gobert about 85 minutes before tipoff and asked, “Rudy, how many Game 7s have you played in?” Gobert replied, “This is my third one. I’m 1-1 overall.” Towns smiled sheepishly and said, “I haven’t been in a Game 7.”

Once Game 7 began, Towns didn’t appear fazed as he scored 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting and grabbed four rebounds in 21 minutes in the first half. He was the only Minnesota player with over 10 points at halftime as the Nuggets took a 53-38 lead. Edwards was having a cold shooting night.

The Timberwolves would need the largest comeback in Game 7 history to earn the stunning win.

The NBA’s best defense, however, woke up in the second half to spark a 28-9 run, helping Minnesota end the third quarter down 67-66. Towns’ dunk with 41.7 seconds left in the fourth gave Minnesota a comfortable 95-88 lead. He finished with 10 points and eight rebounds in the second half en route to the franchise’s second West finals berth.

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch described Towns’ play as “special in the second half.”

“I felt good going into this game. I felt like I gave everything I had,” Towns said. “It’s going to be good to celebrate this. I’m going to have more shows for [Cruz-Towns].”

Towns received kudos from Finch and his teammates afterward. Edwards yelled Towns’ praises as he walked to the postgame media podium.

“He means a lot,” Finch said. “You can tell how at peace and happy he is right now. He had to trust that he was never going to be marginalized. All young players always think that they can do it all by themselves, but nobody can. He’s been on a lot of teams where he had to do a lot. He has the perfect skill to do so. He’s bought into all the things we needed him to do.

“Last series, he guarded [Kevin] Durant. This series, he guarded [Nikola] Jokić. We played through him when the moment is there, but we didn’t play through him all the time. He stayed ready, stayed positive, stayed mentally calm. I couldn’t be more happy for him. He’s faced a lot of unfair criticism in the postseason at times. But the more you go through these things, the more experience you have, the more at peace you are.”

“He made all the right plays tonight once again. He only took 14 shots. He’s always super-efficient from the field. He carried us tonight. Anytime we needed a bucket, he was there for us,” Edwards said.

As for Towns, he preferred to credit his teammates. He said that Game 7 win proved that the Timberwolves were deserving the win. Next up for Towns and the Timberwolves is a Western Conference finals matchup against guards Luka Dončić, Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks. Minnesota has never won the West or been to the NBA Finals and could be viewed as the favorites now after disposing of the champs.

But after all that Towns has been through over these nine years, he felt the need to savor a rare great moment.

“Our team is jelling. You don’t get many opportunities to be with a team like this, so you have to capitalize on it,” Towns said. “We are hungry right now, but we obviously got work to do.

“It’s good to celebrate and have these moments. You never know what is going to happen. We made it to the Western Conference finals. Second time we’ve ever done it. Why not enjoy it?”