"Well that's not aggressive right now": Kenny Smith trolls Karl-Anthony Towns for napping on the court ahead of Game 5 vs Mavs
Karl-Anthony Towns was on the receiving end of a funny jibe from Kenny Smith ahead of the all-important Game 5 matchup between the Dallas Mavericks and the Minnesota Timberwolves. The pre-game had TNT analysts Charles Barkley and Smith discuss what the Wolves had to do to secure a win and force a Game 6.
Barkley suggested that Minnesota had to be aggressive and dunk their way to a way to winning, only for his colleague to notice something funny otherwise. Towns was seen napping on the court ahead of the marquee matchup, and when the cameras panned to the forward, Smith had a quick response:
"Well, that's not aggressive right now"
On the game front, whatever Barkley suggested though was far from even being implemented by Minnesota as Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving quashed any hopes of a comeback with a decisive performance that saw them win 124-103 and punch their ticket to the 2024 NBA Finals.
Karl-Anthony Towns double-double in vain as Timberwolves go down in Game 5
Karl-Anthony Towns responded with a sublime double-double to try and salvage the damage Luka Doncic caused in the first quarter when he exploded for 20 points. His score was more than the 19 points Minnesota scored by the end of the first session. Towns later hit his straps and powered through with 28 points and 12 rebounds, but it wasn't enough to get back into the contest.
Anthony Edwards also had 28 points, nine rebounds, and six assists. But the rest of the T-Wolves unit struggled to score as the Mavericks breezed past their defense.
Doncic ended his evening with 36 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists. Kyrie Irving had 36 points as well and recorded four boards and five assists. PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford had 12 and 11 points respectively.
As for Karl-Anthony Towns, the big copped criticism early on in the series, but he came good in Game 4 to keep the T-Wolves hopes alive of trying to take the series deeper. His efforts saw praise from Irving as well
"Despite the unfair criticism that he's received, he's a great player. I respect him. I know my teammates respect him. .. That's what great players do. They figure it out."
Now, as the Wolves wind up their season, the focus will be on Karl-Anthony Towns' future and whether he ends up sticking with Minnesota for the foreseeable future.