Tag: Karl-Anthony Towns

‘They bullied us’: Timberwolves control paint in blowout win over short-handed Rockets

Friday was a tough night for the short-handed Rockets, who were dominated on the glass in a blowout loss at home to top-seeded Minnesota.

HOUSTON — The short-handed and overachieving Rockets (17-16) were no match for the Western Conference’s best team by record, the Minnesota Timberwolves (25-9), in Friday night’s resounding 122-95 loss (box score) at Toyota Center.

Likely All-Star guard Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 24 points, while Karl Anthony-Towns added 22 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. The Rockets were again missing two of their best defenders in Dillon Brooks (right oblique strain) and Tari Eason (sore left leg).

Brooks is expected to miss at least one more game, though the Rockets are hopeful that Eason could return Saturday.

Jalen Green led the Rockets with 20 points in 31 minutes, shooting 4-of-8 from 3-point range (50.0%). Alperen Sengun added 19 points and 5 rebounds on 8-of-17 shooting (47.1%), with Rudy Gobert (13 points, 12 rebounds) largely holding Sengun in check after a fast start.

Led by Towns and Gobert, the larger Timberwolves had their way on the glass with a 59-45 rebounding advantage. Between that edge and a 14-of-33 night from 3-point range (42.4%) for the Timberwolves as a team, there was little the Rockets could do to flip the script.

Here’s our look at highlights and postgame interviews, along with reaction by media members and fans. The homestand concludes Saturday versus Milwaukee (25-10), with tipoff at 7:00 p.m. Central.

Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves react to Sixers’ Joel Embiid dropping 51

Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves react to Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid dropping 51 points on them.

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers walked away with a statement victory over the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday. The Sixers beat the team with the best record and best defense in the league, 127-113.

The Wolves feature elite defenders Rudy Gobert, Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels. Even Karl-Anthony Towns has taken steps as a defender. Throw in Mike Conley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and it’s understandable that Minnesota has the No. 1 defense.

Joel Embiid didn’t care. The reigning league MVP dropped 51 points on 17-for-25 shooting while also grabbing 12 rebounds to lead the Sixers to the win.

“My brother was just texting me like, ‘I ain’t ever seen nothing like it.’ He’s unstoppable, man,” Edwards told reporters after the win. “I don’t see how they lose a game, honestly.”

To Edwards’ point, Embiid really made it look easy. To their credit, the Wolves played really solid defense. There just wasn’t much Minnesota could do once he got into his groove. The Sixers kept feeding him and he feasted on anything in front of him.

“I think we could’ve been a little more physical on him,” Towns said. “Just making tough shots. When you’re making shots like that consistently, mid-range was working for him. Got to the free-throw line a lot. It’s just — he’s a good player.”

No matter how one describes it, the performance from Embiid was very impressive; the Sixers’ leader continues to produce historic nights.

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Wolves star Karl-Anthony Towns ready to battle Sixers’ Joel Embiid

Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns is ready for a battle with Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid on the floor.

PHILADELPHIA — Whenever the Philadelphia 76ers and the Minnesota Timberwolves match up, the focus is always on the battle between big men Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns.

Embiid, the reigning league MVP, and Towns, one of the better shooting big men in the history of the game, always have exciting matchups.

When the Sixers fell to the Timberwolves on Nov. 22 on the road, they didn’t have Embiid. They had trouble with both Towns and Rudy Gobert down low in the paint. With Embiid back for this one, Towns and the Wolves know they’re going to be in for a challenge.

“Just his talent,” Towns said of Embiid at shootaround on Wednesday. “His talent, size, game plan, a great coaching staff, and offensive game plan that they have set up for him. He’s playing at a high level, and we have to come together to contain him.”

Per StatMuse, Embiid is averaging 26.4 points and 9.5 rebounds against Towns in his career. The two have faced each other 10 times; Embiid and the Sixers won seven of those matchups.

The tip from the Wells Fargo Center is set for 7 p.m. EST on Wednesday.

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Adam Silver’s longest NBA on-court suspensions, including Draymond Green

Adam Silver has only issued a handful of multi-game suspensions for on-court incidents.

Since taking over for David Stern, commissioner Adam Silver has not issued suspensions as often or for as long. But some still stand out.

Even though Silver does not have much reputation as a disciplinarian as the NBA’s commissioner, there are a few moments that have required him to be a bit more strict than usual.

While there are unfortunately several off-court incidents that have needed attention from Silver, it is rare that something that has happened during an actual game has led to a player receiving forced time away from the team.

But the recent suspension of Golden State’s Draymond Green for his violent chokehold of Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert led us to wonder how this compares to other on-court suspensions Silver has issued.

According to research from For The Win, per Spotrac, the NBA has now issued 15 multi-game suspensions for on-court incidents since Silver took over as league commissioner in 2014.

Based on what we found, here is what caused each of the suspensions:

Karl-Anthony Towns celebrated with fans after Dominican Republic perfectly swept FIBA group play

KAT led the Dominican Republic to finish 3-0 during the first three games of the World Cup.

Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns enjoyed himself after the Dominican Republic advanced past group play in the FIBA World Cup.

Towns, the most notable American-born player with NBA experience who is not playing for Team USA, led the Dominican Republic to three consecutive victories to qualify for the second round of the tournament. He averaged 19.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists across the wins.

After the victorious third game against Angola on Tuesday, the Dominican big man was seen dancing and celebrating with fans at the Araneta Coliseum in the Philippines. It was an awesome moment shared between the star player and the fans who supported him.

Towns tweeted that these were the “best fans in the world” after the game.

This looked like a lot of fun for everyone involved but it wasn’t the only celebration we saw from Towns. In addition to celebrating on the court, the joy continued in the locker room as well.

He also showed off some delightful dance moves in the locker room with his teammates.

Towns and the Dominican Republic will play again on Sep. 1 against either Serbia, Puerto Rico or South Sudan depending on the results of Group B.

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10 U.S.-born NBA players (Karl-Anthony Towns!) who are on non-American FIBA World Cup rosters

Jordan Clarkson will represent the Philippines, who will also host the tournament.

The 2023 FIBA World Cup begins next week and 32 teams will compete in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia for a shot at a gold medal.

Although the United States men’s basketball team has a strong roster and enters the tournament as favorites, there are several other national teams (e.g. Canada!) who have a chance to make some noise.

While many of the top international stars are not able to play for one reason or another, there are some familiar faces you may see who you thought were American but are not playing for Team USA.

FIBA allows teams to have one naturalized player on their roster. Let’s run through some of the notable names you’ll see on other rosters:

Jordan Clarkson fouled out after awful offensive contact in a tough Gilas loss at the FIBA World Cup

This was NOT an ideal foul for Jordan Clarkson.

Jordan Clarkson played well against the Dominican Republic, but it wasn’t enough to get the win in the opening match of the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

It was a true thriller in the Manila Philippine Arena in front of 38,115 fans, which was the biggest crowd in FIBA World Cup tournament history. It beat the previous record by nearly 6,000 fans. Those in attendance got to watch a heavyweight battle between Clarkson and Karl-Anthony Towns.

Clarkson was indisputably the leader of the offense for the Gilas, scoring 28 points before eventually getting called for his fifth foul of the game. But he was called for his fifth foul late in the fourth quarter, which was deflating for the Philippines.

This was a really poorly-timed foul from Clarkson, who was clearly the glue to the offense for his national team.

The Gilas struggled to score in the closing minutes after Clarkson became ineligible and when it was all said and done, it was the Dominican Republic that finished on top.

Towns finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds, recording three offensive boards during the contest. It was his first official game for his national team since 2013.

Clarkson and the Philippines will next take on Angola on Aug. 27 and then Italy on Aug. 29. They will have a tough road ahead to get out of Group A and to potentially qualify for the 2024 Olympics in France, but they are still within contention.

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Karl-Anthony Towns got ejected during a FIBA exhibition after sarcastically gesturing to the ref twice

KAT wasn’t happy!

During a tune-up match before the FIBA World Cup begins, Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns was ejected.

Towns, who is representing the Dominican Republic during the tournament, recently helped lead his national team past Canada in a previous scrimmage. But during a game against Spain, the three-time NBA All-Star was called for two technical fouls and was tossed from the match.

Below, you can watch the two possessions that led to the calls from the officials as well as the animated reaction from Towns that led to his dismissal from the contest. Needless to say, the former No. 1 overall pick was not at all happy.

After the ejection, the Dominican Republic ended up losing to Spain.

This reaction GIF should feel relatable for every time you’ve disagreed with an official about a bad call.

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NBA Rookie of the Year: The 5 players to win the award unanimously

Only five players have won the NBA Rookie of the Year award unanimously.

The NBA has seen some of the best players to ever step foot on the hardwood enter the league and have strong rookie campaigns straight out of the gate over the years.

But, only five players have ever unanimously won Rookie of the Year.

The award has been given to the top first-year player since the 1952-53 season when Don Meineke of the Fort Wayne Pistons won. Thirty of the non-active winners have been inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and 22 were drafted with the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft.

The winners are selected by a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. The voters submit ballots with three players — first place (five points), second place (three points) and third place (one point) — and the player with the highest point total is the winner.

There have been several players that have come close to winning unanimously, like Ja Morant in 2020 (99 first-place votes) or even this year with Paolo Banchero (98 first-place votes), but only five have received every first-place vote.

Here are the players to have won Rookie of the Year unanimously.

B/R: Nets’ Ben Simmons’ contract is top target of Timberwolves

The contract of Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons is the top target of the Minnesota Timberwolves this offseason, Per Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report.

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The Brooklyn Nets have a lot to sort through this season as they look to be as competitive as possible for the next few seasons. If they’re lucky, the Nets may be able to use one of their higher-priced players as a way to open up more possibilities on the trade market.

According to Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report, the top target for the Minnesota Timberwolves during free-agency season is to get Brooklyn’s Ben Simmons’ contract on the books. Bailey states that since Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic can’t completely rule out a trade of Minnesota center Karl-Anthony Towns this offseason, it’s possible that the Timberwolves and the Nets could be trade partners.

Simmons, 26, has two years and nearly $78 million left on his five-year, $177 million extension that he signed with the Philadelphia 76ers in July of 2019 while Towns, 27, has five years and over $256 million left on his contract. Both players are in different situations as Towns is one of the better big men in the NBA while Simmons is still trying to regain the All-Star form that he had during his time with the 76ers.

While Simmons is considered by many to have one of the worst contracts at this moment, it’s possible that Minnesota regrets pairing Towns with Rudy Gobert in an era where playing two big men has little to no upside. If a trade between Brooklyn and Minnesota were to occur, and said trade involves Towns and Simmons, Brooklyn could get the stretch-big that it’s been looking for in Towns while Minnesota gets some draft picks and a contract that at the very least is two years from expiring if Simmons is unable to attain his prior form.

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