Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards dominate as Wolves crush Pacers

The duo combined for 77 points in a 127-109 victory.

The Timberwolves’ best players were at their best Saturday night.

Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards combined for 77 points in a 127-109 victory over the Indiana Pacers at Target Center. They took turns taking over the game and opened things up for the rest of the Wolves, who were on fire from 3-point range, hitting at a 60% clip from deep. 

Towns finished with a season-high 40 points and had 12 rebounds and four assists, while Edwards tallied 37 points and four assists. Behind the duo of Towns and Edwards, the Wolves (19-5) took complete control in the third quarter, outscoring Indiana by 15 points in the frame. 

"Offensively, we're kind of easing our way into games, I'd like to see a bit cleaner start, but when we do efficient things, we can score the ball," Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. "Took a while to find our rhythm out there and consistently play to it, but Ant finally starting rising up and knocking down 3s and they didn't really have an answer for KAT all night."

The Pacers (13-11) were playing without leading scorer Tyrese Haliburton, who was out with a left knee contusion. Still, they hung tough for the opening 24 minutes, trailing only by two points at halftime despite big performances from Edwards and Towns.

Towns scored 14 points in the first quarter, helping Minnesota back from an early 6-0 hole. His efforts helped the Wolves take a 23-20 lead after one quarter.

"Just being aggressive," Towns said of his hot start. "Just trying to do whatever it takes to win. Just trying to implement myself into the game and take what the defense is giving me." 

Next it was Edwards' time to take over. 

Edwards scored 18 points in the second frame, again helping the Wolves battle back from a deficit as the undermanned Pacers refused to go away. 

His layup just before the halftime buzzer gave the Wolves a 57-55 advantage at the break.

While the Pacers hung tough for 24 minutes, they eventually had no answer for Towns and Edwards, and it became clear that the night was theirs. Towns scored 13 more points in the third quarter, while Edwards added seven in the frame.

"It's fun to see KAT, like he score the ball so easy," Edwards said. "... His shots, it just looks so easy to him and it's fun to watch that." 

The duo kept their foot on the gas in the fourth, with Towns scoring seven points and Edwards pouring in 10 more as they opened up a lead that was at one point as high as 26 points. 

"We both put our pride to the side and just want to win," Edwards said of his chemistry with Towns. "I think that's the main thing. A lot of people try to put us against each other, and we talk more than a lot of people think. So we super cool." 

When Towns and Edwards were subbed out with just over five minutes remaining, they received a deafening ovation from the sellout Target Center crowd of 18.024. Deservedly so. 

The night belonged to Towns and Edwards.

Final key stats

• Karl-Anthony Towns: 40 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks
• Anthony Edwards: 37 points, 4 assists, 3 steals, 2 rebounds
• Naz Reid: 17 points, 5 rebounds
• Troy Brown Jr.: 11 points, 4 assists, 1 rebound
• Kyle Anderson: 4 points, 10 assists, 4 rebounds
• Mike Conley recorded his 6,000th career assist in the first half