“I heard the doubt”: Karl-Anthony Towns claps back at naysayers amid criticism for health setback
Karl-Anthony Towns made a triumphant return to the court for the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night following an 18-game unavailability due to a lateral meniscus tear in his left knee.
The four-time All-Star was out of action since March 4, undergoing surgery eight days later. Towns was back in the starting lineup for Friday's matchup against the Atlanta Hawks, which the Wolves won 109-106.
The seven-foot player contributed 11 points, five rebounds and eight assists, shooting 4-for-11 from the field with a 1-for-6 mark from beyond the arc during his 27-plus minutes on the court.
Karl-Anthony Towns responded to inquiries about whether he doubted his ability to make a comeback before the regular season's end or even the entirety of this season.
"There was very much doubt around all of us that I would not be ready until second round, third round. So, I heard the doubt and got competitive, got very competitive with it.
"Attacked rehab as tough and as hard as I can. Something that seemed to be a lot more time, I made it way less time."
Minnesota Timberwolves get back on winning track on Karl-Anthony Towns' return
As of Friday, the Minnesota Timberwolves were one game behind the Western Conference leaders, the Denver Nuggets and were on par with the OKC Thunder.
However, following victories by both the Wolves and the Thunder, coupled with a surprising loss by the Nuggets to the Spurs, the three teams found themselves deadlocked. Eventually, Oklahoma City emerged as the frontrunner from the resulting tiebreakers.
Coach Chris Finch expressed uncertainty regarding Karl-Anthony Towns' role just a couple of hours before Friday's game commenced. As it turned out, Towns was positioned as the power forward against Atlanta, with Naz Reid reverting to his role as the sixth man.
Lately, the Timberwolves have struggled significantly at the outset of many games, and Friday's matchup provided yet another reason for concern.
The first half of the game witnessed considerable disorder in the Timberwolves' offense, with notable improvement observed when Naz Reid was on the court, whether in conjunction with Rudy Gobert or Karl-Anthony Towns.
Reid's contributions were evident, as he racked up 15 points, propelling the Wolves to a 56-47 lead by halftime. The momentum continued in their favour, as they extended their lead to 76-59 halfway through the third quarter.
However, the game took an unexpected turn as the home team, whether with or without Karl-Anthony Towns, inexplicably faltered, allowing Atlanta to erase the deficit and tie the score at 80-all by the end of the third quarter and subsequently take the lead in the fourth.