KEY POINTS

  • Karl-Anthony Towns dedicates his 60-point performance to his late mother
  • His mother passed away due to COVID-19 complications in 2020
  • Towns may just propel the Timberwolves to their first postseason berth in four years

Despite Karl-Anthony Towns’ stature, the big man has a notable soft spot.

He recently revealed what motivated him to go out and drop the first 60-point game of this NBA season.

In a series of Twitter posts, Towns revisited the traumatic experience of his parents being admitted to the same hospital that he himself was born in two years ago which turned out to be the place where his mother would also lose her life in her battle with COVID-19.

“Two years later, I walked into [the] AT&T Center with the greatest guardian angel that I could ever ask for and dropped 60 against the winningest coach of all time,” Towns stated.

Jacqueline Cruz-Towns, aged 58, passed away due to complications in her month-long fight against the virus in April 2020 and it was an experience that traumatized the player for a long while due to his deep connection with his mother.

Towns also lost five other family members due to the virus, and the Timberwolves big man admitted in December of that same year that playing basketball amidst the multiple tragedies that he faced has changed the way he approaches the sport.

The Timberwolves walked into the San Antonio Spurs’ home arena of the AT&T Center and Towns was playing like a man possessed throughout the game.

Whether it was step-back three-pointers, slamming the ball home, or using his great footwork to position himself in the paint, Towns carried the Timberwolves to a 149-139 victory over the Spurs.

The 26-year-old did his damage in just 36 minutes of game time, scoring 60 points on 19-of-31 field goal shooting, 15 free throw makes, and seven threes while adding 17 rebounds, three assists and a steal.

His performance allowed him to set a new scoring record for both the Timberwolves and himself, who had a previous career-high of 56 that he set during the 2017-18 season against the Atlanta Hawks in a victory.

Towns and the Timberwolves are just one game shy of the Denver Nuggets for the sixth seed, which assures them their first playoff berth in four seasons.

Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch has finally found the balance in satisfying both Towns and sophomore star Anthony Edwards’ desires to have the ball in their hands, and it has led to them having an 8-3 record since the All-Star break.

Fans should not be surprised to see Towns put up big numbers the rest of the way as his numbers are generally up from last season, which makes Minnesota a must-follow team as the regular season comes to a close.

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