LOS ANGELES, United States —
Karl-Anthony Towns
erupted for a career-high 60 points as the Minnesota Timberwolves ran riot
against the San Antonio Spurs in a night of high scoring across the NBA on
Monday.
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Towns’ franchise-record masterclass was the highest
individual score in a single
NBA game this season and laid the foundation for a
149–139 victory on the road in Texas.
Thirty-two of Towns’ points haul came in the third quarter.
The 26-year-old drained seven-of-11 attempts from three-point range and was
19-of-31 from the field overall.
"I wish I could give you all more energy but I'm tired
as hell," a weary Towns told reporters after a win that sees
Minnesota improve to 40-30 to remain firmly in the hunt for an automatic playoff berth in
the West.
"Great game, great team win. I told everyone in the
locker room — this happens because of y'all," Towns said. "None of
this happens without my teammates saying, 'We want you to have a chance at
history.’”
"They have to pass me the ball. For them to all be on
the same page speaks volumes about the chemistry of this team."
Minnesota coach Chris Finch echoed Towns' comments, praising
the Timberwolves "team dynamic."
"Our guys all root for their teammates' success,"
Finch said. "People see how incredibly talented KAT is and what he's able
to do.”
"They know he's the guy and he can take us to these
types of performances when we need him the most."
Green boosts Warriors
Steph Curry bagged his seventh 40-point game of the season
as the Golden State Warriors marked the return of
Draymond Green with a 126–112
win over the Washington Wizards in San Francisco.
Curry finished with 47 points as the Warriors bagged their
fourth straight win. Significantly, Monday's game marked the first time since
2019 that Curry, Green, and
Klay Thompson — three pillars of the club's success
over the past decade — appeared on court together.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr was delighted by the successful
return of Green. "The chessboard changes when Draymond is out there,"
Kerr said.
"We have a pretty unique group of stars. They really
make each other better. That's the beauty of our team."
Curry's scoring was backed by 20-point hauls from Thompson
and Jordan Poole.
In other games,
Nikola Jokic won his duel with potential MVP
successor Joel Embiid as the Denver Nuggets came from behind to score a 114–110
road victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.
The much-anticipated showdown between reigning NBA MVP Jokic
and Sixers ace Embiid — seen as the front-runner for this year's award — did
not disappoint.
Serbian star Jokic finished with 22 points, 13 rebounds, and
eight assists as Denver halted their two-game losing streak to improve to 41–28.
Embiid led the scoring for
Philadelphia with 34 points while
James Harden added 24.
Denver maintained their sixth-place position in the Western
Conference — the last of the automatic playoff berths.
Jokic was backed with 21 points from Bones Hyland while Will
Barton chipped in with 20 points.
Jokic delivered the highlight reel-worthy moment of the game
late in the fourth quarter, making an incredible running jump shot to put the
Nuggets 112–108 ahead with 1min 32sec remaining.
Denver coach Michael Malone played down the significance of
the duel between Jokic and Embiid.
"I understand the hoopla about that — two dominant big
men who are MVP candidates," Malone said. "But for us it was just
important to get a win.
Lakers trounced
In Utah,
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 30 points as the
Milwaukee Bucks scored a 117–111 win over the Jazz.
Jrue Holiday added 29 points and Khris Middleton 23 as the
Bucks scored their first win in Utah for 21 years.
"The competitiveness, the resilience in the fourth
quarter on the road in a tough environment...this is a tough place to play.
It's a good win for us on the road," Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer
said.
In
Los Angeles, the Lakers' problems continued with a 114–103
defeat to the Toronto Raptors.
Toronto led from start to finish, with their lead reaching
28 points at one stage in the third quarter before a late flurry of scoring
that flattered the Lakers.
A humiliation had been on the cards early on, with the
Raptors leading 33–12 at the end of the first quarter.
"Just can't put the ball in the basket," Lakers
coach
Frank Vogel said of the first-quarter performance.
"I think our effort was good, but our offense was
putting us in a tough spot."
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