On March 15, Beijing time, the Timberwolves won 149-139 away to the Spurs. It was an offensive battle, and neither team defended. Towns became the MVP of the game, playing 36 minutes, shooting 19-of-31, 7-of-11 from three-point range, 15-of-16 from the free throw line, slashing 60 points, 17 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal. This is the NBA's first single-game 60+ of the season!
Let's see how many records Downs set in this game? 1. Towns has the highest personal career score; 2, the first single game 60+ in the history of the Timberwolves; 3, the first center player with 60+ points in a single game after O'Neal in 2000; 4. After O'Neal (2000) and Harden (2019), the third player in the past 30 years to exceed 60 points and 15 boards in a single game.
5, Towns single-game 60 points became the second highest score against the Spurs in history, second only to Harden's 61 points in the 2018-19 season; 6, Towns became the second player in the past 20 years after Anthony in 2014 to cut 50 points and 10 rebounds in the first three quarters of the past 20 years; 7, the first player in NBA history to cut 60 points, 17 rebounds, and hit 7 three-pointers at the same time.
It is worth mentioning that Downes scored 32 points in the third quarter, becoming the fifth highest score in a single quarter in NBA history. The top four are: Clay (37 points), Love (34 points), Anthony and George Gervin (33 points)! In the eyes of many fans, Towns is the active third center (C), slightly inferior to Mr. Yo and Embiid.
Towns did what Joe and Embiid didn't do today, and you could argue that the Spurs are too poor defensively, but not every center can play that against the Spurs. So far this season, Towns has averaged 24.7 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1 steal, 1.2 blocks per game, shooting 53.1 percent from the field, 40.3 percent from three-point range and 82.1 percent from the free throw line.
Some people will say: Isn't Downs scoring points in the weak team? The Timberwolves are not fishy this season, and they currently rank seventh in the West with 40 wins and 30 losses, trailing the sixth-place Nuggets by just 1.5 wins, 4.5 wins ahead of the eighth-place Clippers and as many as 9.5 wins ahead of the ninth-place Lakers. Such a record can not be regarded as a weak team, right?
In an interview last offseason, Towns revealed that he lost up to 50 pounds (about 45 pounds) during his covid-19 infection. Towns said: "I found myself as thin as Russell, almost the weight of a defender, and I even doubted that I could play as a centre-forward anymore. "Towns can play this season, which shows how much effort he has put in.
Towns said: "I want to be like Duncan and Kobe Bryant and play on only one team in my entire career! "He did make a certain sacrifice for the team's victory. Thanks to Edwards' upbringing, Towns has averaged just 16.3 shots per game this season, a new low in the last four seasons, and he is no longer a player who trades high shots for high scores.
In this year's All-Star Three-Point Contest, Towns threw 29 points in the final, pushing Kennard and Trae Young to win the championship and crown the three-point king for the first time in his career. Towns said in an interview: "It's true that I'm the best big shooter in NBA history. Towns shot 39.9 percent from three-point range in his career and averaged four three-pointers per game.
Downes needs more hard battles to prove himself. On Feb. 2, the Nuggets vs Timberwolves, Towns had 24 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists on 8-of-12 shooting, Jokic had 21 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists on 6-of-12 shooting; On Feb. 26, Philadelphia vs Timberwolves, Towns had 25 points, seven rebounds and three assists on 8-of-19 shooting, and Embiid had 34 points, 10 rebounds and three assists on 10-of-18 shooting.