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Timberwolves Coach Offers Blunt Quote on Karl-Anthony Towns's Struggles vs. Mavs
The Minnesota Timberwolves find themselves in a 3–0 series deficit after losing to the Dallas Mavericks 116–107 in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals on Sunday night.
Basically every Timberwolves player aside from reigning Sixth Man of the Year Naz Reid has struggled at times in this series. But Karl-Anthony Towns's ice cold stretch from the field has been historically bad.
Through three games this series, Towns is averaging 15.0 points per game while shooting 27.8% from the field and 13.6% from three-point range (3 for 22). He missed all eight attempts from downtown in Game 3.
"He struggled, of course," Finch said Sunday of Towns's Game 3 performance. "It was hard to watch at times. ... He's struggling. There's no doubt right now."
The shooting woes are uncharacteristic for Towns, a career 39.8% shooter from deep. Game 3 marked the first time of his career that he missed every three-pointer in a game on at least eight attempts. He's gone 0-for-6 or worse from deep just five times in his nine-year career.
Only nine players in NBA history have had a worse three-point shooting stretch on at least 20 attempts in a three-game span during a single playoff run.
PLAYER | YEAR | 3P/3PA | 3P% |
|---|---|---|---|
Jaylen Brown | 2023 | 2/20 | 10.0% |
LeBron James | 2023 | 2/20 | 10.0% |
Jae Crowder | 2021 | 2/20 | 10.0% |
Pascal Siakam | 2020 | 2/20 | 10.0% |
Kevin Durant | 2011 | 2/20 | 10.0% |
Isaiah Thomas | 2017 | 3/26 | 11.5% |
Donovan Mitchell | 2022 | 3/25 | 12.0% |
Luguentz Dort | 2020 | 3/24 | 12.5% |
Jae Crowder | 2020 | 3/23 | 13.0% |
Karl-Anthony Towns | 2024 | 3/22 | 13.6% |
Kemba Walker | 2020 | 3/22 | 13.6% |
Trevor Ariza | 2018 | 3/22 | 13.6% |
"I'm got a lot of faith. I'm putting up to 1,500 shots per day," Towns said to reporters after the game. "I've shot so well all playoffs, confidence extremely high. To be having these unfortunate bounces and these looks that just aren't going in is tough. I'm good confidence-wise. Just got to keep shooting."
The Timberwolves will fight to keep their series alive Tuesday in Game 4 at American Airlines Center.
Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.