Karl-Anthony Towns waved goodbye to the Lakers as he exited the floor late in the fourth quarter of Minnesota's 124-104 victory over Los Angeles on Wednesday night.
Timberwolves stay hot, turn away L.A. Lakers 124-104 at Target Center
Karl-Anthony Towns again navigated foul trouble by scoring 30 points, 16 of those in the fourth quarter, while Anthony Edwards had 27 against the woebegone Lakers.
March 17, 2022 at 5:34AM
As he did, Patrick Beverley fired up the Target Center crowd across from the bench, then made his way over for a seat, never taking the fervid look off his face.
Moments earlier, the two were having fun at the expense of Lakers guard Russell Westbrook, who had airballed a three from the corner. Towns was pretending he couldn't see where the ball went.
The Wolves aren't exactly sad to see the woebegone Lakers, 3-12 in their past 15, go through fits and struggles in the final weeks of the season, and that much was clear at the end. Their coach appreciated the bravado the team has, even if it might cross a line from time to time.
"I like the fact that we have confidence," coach Chris Finch said. "I like the fact that we play with a lot of emotion. We also have to realize, like, we have to also mature a little bit and act like we've been there before because we have."
That kind of success isn't new to the Wolves this season, who are now 41-30 and have won nine of their past 10 games.
"It's a fine line and let's be honest, we got a lot of fiery personalities and passionate people I would say," Towns said. "So, just have to do a job, including myself, to keep your emotions in check."
The night wasn't without some nervous emotions, especially in the third and early fourth quarters.
If you had turned off the game in the second quarter when they were up 25 and only looked at the final, you might not have known there were a few happenings in between. The Wolves fell into a stupor and the Lakers cut the lead to four early in the fourth.
But Towns, who missed most of the third quarter because of four fouls, was able to keep from picking up his fifth and scored 16 of his 30 points in the fourth as an encore to his 60-point performance Monday.
"Go and dominate," Towns said of his mind-set in the fourth. "It was as simple as that. I knew the situation I was in. … I was going to make up for lost time."
By the time he hit a three with 5:30 to play, the Wolves were up 108-92 and back in cruise control, this time for good.
Anthony Edwards helped build the initial lead with 20 of his 27 points in the second quarter. Edwards hit all five of his three-point attempts in the second quarter and was 6-for-11 for the game. He had been just 29% from deep in his past 10 games.
When asked about the team's confidence after the game, Edwards used the word "swag" at least a dozen times.
"A couple players on your team got to have swag," Edwards said. "It can't just be one. Once a couple of them get swag, then you put it in three more, four more and everybody feel like they the man of the hour and that's what we need."
Beverley, one of the engines of that swag, had 18 for the Wolves. LeBron James had 19 for the Lakers, who never led in the game. Westbrook, a frequent foil of Beverley's, finished 5-for-12 for 15 points.
Towns said it was Beverley who came over to challenge him before the fourth quarter.
"He said, 'Be great. Fourth quarter we need you to be great,' " Towns said.
He took Beverley's advice to heart.
"I got challenged by him and I'm going to respond to him," Towns said.
Their 28-point lead got trimmed to two late, but they held on in a Western Conference finals rematch that missed an injured Luka Doncic after halftime.
