MINNEAPOLIS — Karl-Anthony Towns scored a franchise-record 62 points, including 44 in the first half, but the Charlotte Hornets erased an 18-point deficit and stunned the Minnesota Timberwolves 128-125 on Monday night.
Towns surpassed his previous career mark of 60, which was also the Minnesota record.
However, Towns managed just four points on 2-of-10 shooting in the fourth quarter, when the Timberwolves were outscored 36-18. He thought he was fouled on a drive to the basket in the final seconds with Minnesota trailing by one, then he came up short on a three-point attempt on the final possession.
Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch criticized his team after the game, calling it an “absolutely disgusting performance of defense and immature basketball.” Finch went on to criticize how the Timberwolves responded to Towns' hot start, saying they stopped looking to make the right play.
“I mean there are a lot of times where, just because you've scored two, three or four points in a row, or baskets in a row… you know, obviously we're going to try to feed a hot hand, look for a good hand, but at some point we have We have to get back to making the right play, we have to get back to doing the right things,” Finch said.
Towns finished 21 of 35 from the field, including 10 of 15 from 3-point range, and now owns the three highest scoring goals in the Wolves' 35-year history.
“To have a night like that after a loss doesn't feel very good or historic,” Towns said.
The Wolves tried to isolate Towns with 12 seconds left, but Leaky Black blocked his layup attempt and then hit a pair of free throws at the other end.
Towns' last-second desperation missed 3-pointer ensured that this was the 21st time in NBA history that a player scored 60 or more points in a loss.
Towns said there was no silver lining to his performance given the loss.
“We are number one in the West, one of the best teams in the NBA; there is no time for moral victories, positive aspects, 'great night, but not the ending we wanted'. We have to find a way to win,” he said . “It's about winning the game. It's about staying No. 1 in the West. It's about protecting our home court more, the most important thing above all else.”
In the first half, Towns was 14 of 17 from the field and 8 of 9 from 3-point range as the Wolves took a 69-64 lead. The eight 3-pointers in one half were two shy of the NBA record. The NBA record for points in a first half is shared by David Thompson and George Gervin with 53.
Miles Bridges scored 28 points and Brandon Miller scored 27 for the Hornets, who had lost seven of their last eight games and had the third-worst record in the Eastern Conference entering Monday. Meanwhile, Minnesota has lost two games in a row for the second time this season.
“Like I said, there are many ways to be immature,” Finch said. “There are always a lot of ways to be immature. There were a lot of immature performances here throughout the squad. We totally disrespected the game, ourselves, and we got exactly what we deserved.”
Towns' scoring performance was overshadowed by Joel Embiid's 70-point night for the Philadelphia 76ers in their victory over the San Antonio Spurs. Towns and Embiid became the fourth pair of NBA players to score at least 60 points each on the same day and the first since David Thompson (73) and George Gervin (63) in 1978, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
