Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Bryan Kalbrosky

Karl-Anthony Towns shares touching motivation behind career-high 60-point performance

Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns scored 60 points against the Spurs, including a whopping 32 points in just the third quarter.

The performance was the highest total any player has reached so far this season. In the game, Towns also became the first center to score 60 points in a game since Shaquille O’Neal scored as many in 2000.

Perhaps most impressive: Towns stole the show on an evening when the two MVP frontrunners, Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic, faced off on ESPN. While basketball fans came into the night expecting to pin two excellent big men against one another, it was Towns who came out as the most exciting player of the night.

While there is no doubt what Towns did was astonishing, it’s even more impressive when considering the circumstances.

After the game, Towns took to Twitter to explain to fans that the performance he had came two years to the day that his mother was admitted to the hospital with COVID-19.

Towns’ mother, Jacqueline, was one of seven relatives that the 26-year-old NBA star tragically lost to coronavirus. However, the former No. 1 overall pick shared that she was the “greatest guardian angel” that he ever could have asked for during his winning effort against the Spurs.

Towns also added what he took away from the experience (via Twitter):

“I say this to say…no matter what life throws at you, you can come out of it stronger. Tough times don’t last, tough people do. Miss you Momma. This game….my life…is for you ❤️🕊”

Currently enjoying his seventh professional season, Towns was recently named to the All-Star team for the third time in his NBA tenure.

During the NBA’s All-Star Weekend, he also won the NBA’s three-point contest. He came into the competition with the lowest odds to win of any participant.

Towns is currently leading the Timberwolves to just their second season with a winning record since 2004-05. He is also making a solid case for himself to earn All-NBA consideration at the season’s end.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.