SAN ANTONIO — Karl-Anthony Towns delivered one of the most prolific performances by an NBA player in more than two decades.
And he finished with a nice round number, too.
Towns had a team-record 60 points — the most scored in the NBA this season — and the Minnesota Timberwolves outlasted the San Antonio Spurs 149-139 on Monday night.
“I told Coach before the game, `Hey listen, we need this win. I’ll do whatever it takes,’” Towns said. “‘If I need to play 44, 48 minutes, I’ll get it done.’ That was kind of the mindset I came in (with). I had to dominate. I had to be my best.”
He certainly was.
Towns shot 19 for 31 and grabbed 17 rebounds in surpassing his previous career best of 56 points against Atlanta on March 28, 2018 — which had been the franchise mark. Lakers star LeBron James and Hawks guard Trae Young previously shared league-high honors this season with 56 points.
Minnesota’s 7-foot All-Star capped his dazzling outburst by draining a 3-pointer with 1:39 remaining, shortly after making one of two free throws to reach 57 points.
He became the first NBA player with 60 points and 17 rebounds in a game since Shaquille O’Neal had 61 and 23 for the Los Angeles Lakers on March 6, 2000.
“The whole team was happy,” said Timberwolves point guard D’Angelo Russell, who had 19 points. “Everybody was being selfless about it. I think that was more of what I appreciated. The performance was amazing, but everybody wanted to see it, too.”
Minnesota is 1 1/2 games behind Denver for sixth place in the Western Conference playoff chase.
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.
Keldon Johnson had 34 points for San Antonio. Dejounte Murray added 30 points and 12 assists, and Lonnie Walker IV scored 22.
The teams combined for 148 points in the first half, shooting 58 of 100 while playing at a frenzied pace.
San Antonio opened the game 4 for 5 on 3-pointers, but Minnesota shot 75% from the field during the first seven minutes.
Towns had 14 points and five rebounds while playing the entire first quarter against Jakob Poeltl and Zach Collins.
“Karl was fantastic,” Popovich said. “He drove it, he shot it — he always plays hard. He’s a hell of a player. It’s not like it was a surprise, but tonight he was special.”
Towns had 32 points in the third quarter. He finished 7 for 11 on 3s.
“They were selling out to protect the rim with everything else we were trying to do,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch said. “He had the matchup, and they didn’t have an answer for him. We definitely needed it and he stepped up.”
The game got chippy in the third, as Minnesota guard Patrick Beverley got tangled up with Murray and Collins on separate possessions. The skirmishes fueled a 16-7 run for the Wolves that gave them a 112-99 lead with 2:30 remaining in the quarter.
Towns had 56 points through the first three periods. He sat down with 6:34 remaining shortly after picking up his fourth and fifth fouls within 45 seconds, but returned to the floor with three minutes left to set his career high.
Towns said he asked Finch what he wanted to do and the coach told him to ‘“go get 60.’”
“So I just went out there, tried to be really aggressive,” Towns explained.
TIP-INS
Timberwolves: Anthony Edwards had five points in 30 minutes after being listed as probable due to a tendinopathy. … Towns’ foul on Poeltl in the third quarter was upgraded to a flagrant 1 after video review. … Towns also inadvertently elbowed teammate Taurean Prince on the bridge of the nose late in the first quarter after both attempted to rebound a missed 3-pointer by Josh Primo. Prince sat on the court for a minute clutching at his nose but remained in the game following a timeout. … Beverley started the game and had 20 points in 30 minutes after being questionable due to an ear injury.
Spurs: Murray is the first player in franchise history with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists in a single season. … Johnson joined Kawhi Leonard as the only players in franchise history with 1,000 points, 400 rebounds and 125 3-pointers in a single season. … Doug McDermott missed the game after spraining his right ankle Saturday in the first half of San Antonio’s 11-point loss to Indiana. Popovich is unsure how long McDermott will be sidelined, but said he is out “for a while.” … Keita Bates-Diop sat out with back soreness after playing eight minutes against the Pacers. He has missed four of five games. … Romeo Langford did not play due to a strained right hamstring.
UP NEXT
Timberwolves: Host the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night.
Spurs: Host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night.
