Coach Chris Finch says Wolves played ‘disgusting’ despite KAT’s historic 62-point exhibition

Karl-Anthony Towns might have set a new career-high and franchise record with his 62 points scored on Monday night, but his team still lost 128 to 125 against the Hornets at Target Center. 

By the first half, the versatile big man had already dropped in 44 points, shooting 14-of-17 from field goal attempts and 8-of-9 from beyond the arc. He specifically became the first player in league history to make 10 two-point from the field, 10 three-pointers and 10 free throws in the same match.

Unfortunately, all these records weren’t celebrated in the postgame locker room as this exhibition didn’t pay off with a victory. “It’s hard to look at the game like that. I was just doing my job, I really just wanted to win, you want to be able to have one of those nights on a win. Having a night like that on a loss doesn’t feel very good, historic, whatever you want to say,” KAT said after his career’s second 60+ point performance.

“It doesn’t make me feel happy about the night we had,” Towns assured. “It was never for individual achievement or anything, I just wanted to help us win, get home, be with my father and play some cards. That’s really what I was looking forward to.”

Believe it or not, Minnesota led the game by as many as 18 points in the third quarter, but were ultimately outscored 36-18 in the fourth quarter and lost the match. Coach Chris Finch described his team’s display as “disgusting” and “immature” during his postgame interview, mainly disappointed in his defense.

“It was an absolute disgusting performance of defense and immature basketball, all the way through the game. It really didn’t slip away, it had been there from the jump. This is what happens when you have that type of approach,” the trainer said.

The Wolves coach believes everyone was rooting for Towns and lost concentration. “Obviously we’re going to try to feed a hot hand, look for a hot hand, but at some point we’ve got to get back to making the right play, we’ve got to get back to doing the right things. There’s a lot of ways to be immature. We totally disrespected the game, ourselves and we got exactly what we deserved,” Finch insisted.

Wolves players confessed they were more interested in watching KAT overcome his record than actually winning the game

Team star Anthony Edwards, who was battling illness on Monday night, only hit 9 points and handed out 11 assists while shooting just 3-of-11 from field goal attempts. After the contest, the young forward revealed Minnesota lacked focus and was mainly concentrated in helping Towns surpass his own record.

“We weren’t focused from the jump. KAT just had a great night, we weren’t focused. He hit his first six, seven shots, everybody was just trying to see him get 100 points, I know I was,” Edwards admitted. “All 14 of us wanted to see him get 80 or something.”

“We totally disrespected the game”

Timberwolves Head Coach Chris Finch was beyond disappointed with his team tonight… and confirmed KAT was simply “hunting a big number”

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— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) January 23, 2024

On the other hand, Charlotte’s Miles Bridges and Brandon Miller both combined for 55 points to defeat the Timberwolves. Even though Minnesota as still at the top of the Western Conference’s standings, this was easily their worst loss of what has been one of their strongest seasons in decades.

“It’s a long season, you’re going to have bad games. I was hoping that we were beyond it, but until you go through it all you really can’t tell. We’ve got a lot of basketball left to play and that’s what these guys have got to understand. We haven’t done a thing yet, we haven’t accomplished a thing yet and we’ve got to play with a better desire and better purpose and better readiness on every single night,” coach Finch concluded.