MINEAPOLIS – After a poor outing in the loss of Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 3, Carl-Anthony Towns responded with a fruitful performance in Minnesota’s 119-118 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 4 on Saturday night. The series of the best of the seven is already at a standstill at 2-2.
Townes, a three-time All-Star and No. 1 in the 2015 NBA Draft, has struggled in the previous two games, both losing to Minnesota. In games 2 and 3, he made 10 personal mistakes, but scored only seven goals from the field, as the Grizzlies threw a lot of defenders to him in the half court.
A bunch of rage, Townes said of his mood in Game 4. He’s trying to find ways to dominate, no matter what they throw. [at me] – double, triple, quadruple, the coach comes on the court and watches over me too – and I find ways to put the ball in the bucket. “
Townes responded with 33 points and 14 rebounds, joining Kevin Garnett as the only Timberwolves player to record a playoff game of 30 and 10. One of the most diverse offensive big men in the NBA, Townes showed off his full repertoire. He excelled in pick-and-roll, driving as a goal scorer in isolation against the great big defenders of Memphis and even coming off the screens as a long-distance shooter. He scored an effective 1.43 points of possession.
“He was angry,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch said of Townes’ attitude before the game. “He was really good from the start: aggressive, putting pressure on them, forcing them to play, to get to the free throw line, things he hasn’t done much in the last few games.”
Townes made a living on the free throw line on Saturday, challenging the Grizzlies’ defense on the way to the basket. He failed 14 of his 17 free throw attempts and attributed much of his overall success in Game 4 to his score on the ribbon.
“It gives me free pictures on the edge,” Townes said. “It gives a good note of basketball. It gives me a good rhythm. More importantly for me personally, it allows me to calm down.”
Among those free throws was the pair that froze the game for the Timberwolves, placing four with 4.4 seconds left. Townes, who has fired 83.3% of his free throw in his career, said he was extremely confident he would draw the final blow.
“I knew it was good – the game was over,” he said. “I was thinking what to eat.”
Grizzlies guard Ja Morant then praised Townes’ efforts in light of his poor performance in Minnesota’s historic Match 3 crash.
“KAT responded the way a superstar should,” Morant said.
Morant, who scored just 11 points in a 4 to 13 shot from the field – accompanied by 16 assists – will have the opportunity to answer for himself in Game 5 in Memphis on Tuesday night.
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