Karl-Anthony Towns had a career-high 60 points — the most scored in the NBA this season — and the Minnesota Timberwolves outlasted the San Antonio Spurs 149-139 on Tuesday (AEDT).
He scored an incredible 32 points in the third quarter, with the player himself in disbelief when he was told that number during an on-court interview.
“I had 32 in the third?” Towns shot back. Damn! All right.”
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Towns shot 19 for 31 and grabbed 17 rebounds in surpassing his previous best of 56 points against Atlanta on March 28, 2018. Lakers star LeBron James and Hawks point guard Trae Young previously shared league-high honours this season with 56 points.
By adding 17 rebounds to his 60 points, Towns became only the third NBA player in history to combine for 60 points and at least 15 rebounds. The two who did it before him were all-time greats Shaquille O’Neal and Wilt Chamberlain.
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Minnesota’s 7-foot All-Star capped his dazzling performance by draining a 3-pointer with 1:39 remaining, shortly after making one of two free throws to reach 57 points.
San Antonio has lost two straight since Gregg Popovich earned his 1,336th career victory to become the winningest coach in NBA history. The Spurs have dropped seven of nine and are 2-3 during a seven-game homestand, their longest of the season.
Spurs forward Keldon Johnson had 34 points, Dejounte Murray added 30 points and 12 assists, and Lonnie Walker IV scored 22.
NUGGETS 114, 76ERS 110
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Nikola Jokic had 22 points and 13 rebounds to lead Denver past Joel Embiid and Philadelphia in a battle of MVP contenders.
Embiid finished with 34 points and took a scary fall. Jeff Green clobbered Embiid on a drive to the basket with 3:13 left and the All-Star center landed on his tailbone. Embiid grabbed at his back but walked off the court on his own power. Green received a flagrant foul and Embiid went 1 of 2 from the free-throw line to cut Denver’s lead to 107-106.
Denver rookie Bones Hyland then stole the show from the All-Star big men, burying his fourth 3 of the fourth quarter for a 110-108 lead that the Nuggets held on to. Hyland finished with 21 points.
CAVALIERS 120, CLIPPERS 111, OT
CLEVELAND (AP) — Rookie Evan Mobley scored a season-high 30 points and Darius Garland had 24 points and 13 assists as Cleveland beat Los Angeles.
Isaac Okoro added 20 points, including two free throws to open the extra period. Cleveland never trailed after that.
Ivica Zubac had 24 points, 14 rebounds and four assists, and Amir Coffey scored 19 for the Clippers, who had only nine players in uniform. Los Angeles shot 1 of 10 from the field in OT, with Nicholas Batum making a 3-pointer to pull within 110-109. Cleveland scored the final seven points.
HAWKS 122, TRAIL BLAZERS 113
ATLANTA (AP) — Trae Young scored 21 of his 46 points in the third period and Atlanta rallied from a 15-point second-half deficit to beat Portland.
Young, who scored 47 points a night earlier in a win over Indiana, added 12 assists against the Blazers.
The Hawks won their third straight to reach .500 for the first time since Dec. 15.
Josh Hart led Portland with 31 points.
HORNETS 134, THUNDER 116
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Terry Rozier scored 30 points and Charlotte beat Oklahoma City.
Charlotte closed out a perfect two-game trip, rallying after falling behind by as many as 18 points in the second quarter. Miles Bridges had 27 points and six assists, and LaMelo Ball finished with 21 points and seven assists.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 32 points and eight rebounds, and Darius Bazley scored 25 points.
Oklahoma City lost its sixth consecutive game.
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