Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns returned to the court Friday against the Atlanta Hawks. Towns has been sidelined since March 4 and underwent surgery on March 12 to repair a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee. As a result, speculation swirled last week about his possible return. origin? Towns himself:
The Minnesota big man started Friday's game against the Hawks and had 11 points, five rebounds and eight assists.
The 18-game layoff was beneficial for Towns, who is now ready to help the Timberwolves in the playoffs.
“Having had a lot of time to observe this team and see it from a different perspective has given me a better understanding of what I can do when I get out there to help this team and have the biggest impact on this team. '' Towns said after the win.in minnesota Three-way tie for first place in Western Conference Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder.
Towns made a crucial 3-pointer from the corner with 2:29 remaining, giving the Timberwolves a slight advantage over the Hawks.
With one game left in the regular season — the Timberwolves host the Phoenix Suns in their final game of the regular season — the top seed in the West will be determined on Sunday.
Minnesota went 12-6 in 18 games without Towns, with an average (or 115.3 points per 100 possessions) offense and dominant (or 108.6 points per 100 possessions) defense during that span. In other words, the Timberwolves essentially performed at the same level as before Towns' injury. Much of the credit for this should go to Naz Reid, the entertaining big man who has become one of the frontrunners for Sixth Man of the Year. During that span, Reed averaged 17.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.4 blocks in 28.8 minutes while shooting 42.6 percent from 3-point range on 6.8 attempts per game.
This is a bit of a bummer, as the return of Towns will likely reduce Reid's minutes (unless head coach Chris Finch decides it's time to normalize the three-big lineup). Nevertheless, the four-time All-Star's return is good news for Minnesota, which certainly has a higher offensive ceiling in the playoffs. In 60 games before his injury, Towns was averaging 22.1 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 3.0 assists in 32.8 minutes, on 26.9 percent usage and 62.8 percent shooting.
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