Wednesday NBA Roundup: Karl-Anthony Towns Learning Hardest Superstar Lesson Yet

Eyes downcast as he walked off the floor following the Minnesota Timberwolves’ gut-wrenching 106-104 loss to the New York Knicks on Wednesday, Karl-Anthony Towns must have been wondering if he had a third option.

He’d already said everything a superstar is supposed to say.

“These losses fall on my shoulders,” he told reporters after a Monday loss. “This is no one else’s fault—none of the coaching staff, none of my teammates. It’s my fault. I don’t think it’s anyone’s fault but myself, and it’s something that I’ve got to fix.”

And after a luminescent 47-point, 18-rebound effort in defeat against the Knicks, he’d done everything a superstar is supposed to do.

“What else is there?” he must have asked the heavens as he shifted his plaintive gaze from the floor to the rafters.

Towns was brilliant from the outset, scoring 22 points in the first quarter on 8-of-8 shooting and steadily piling up highlights throughout. He was energized, driven to back up his words with deeds on both ends.

Share Tweet Embed

His production was historic, as Tommy Beer of Basketball Insiders relayed:

Karl Anthony-Towns becomes just the ninth player in the last three decades w/ at least 47 points & 18 rebs. Here’s other 8 via @bball_ref pic.twitter.com/Z7xpTfv0ub

— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) December 1, 2016

And for a moment, it almost seemed like the Timberwolves would make it count.

Instead of blowing a late lead as they’ve done so many times this season, they erased one, tying the game at 104 after trailing by as many as 17 points in the fourth quarter. Towns had done it mostly without help all night, and it was painfully fitting that his teammates kept him from factoring in the most crucial closing moments.

Andrew Wiggins surrendered the game-winning jumper to Carmelo Anthony and Zach LaVine threw away the inbound pass, eliminating any chance of an answer on Minnesota’s final possession.

No other Timberwolves starter made half of his shots, and the bench scored five points combined.

In addition to Anthony’s late heroics, the Knicks got top-line production from Kristaps Porzingis, who finished with 29 points, eight rebounds and four assists. The guy picked three spots after Towns also took the opportunity to tell his draft-mate he wasn’t intimidated:

Share Tweet Embed

As has often been the case this season, Porzingis flashed skills never before seen in a 7’3″ player:

Share Tweet

But while it’s tempting to spin this into another one of those trite rivalry angles, the real story is Towns and the brutal lessons he’s been forced to learn lately.

Had Minnesota pulled this out, it would have been a galvanizing victory—a solution to so many of its problems. All season, the Wolves have struggled to pull together, instead seeking to solve struggles and erase deficits individually. A win against the Knicks, with Towns backing up his comments by carrying his team, would have clarified an undeniable hierarchy.

It would have driven home the idea of Towns being the fulcrum and everyone else figuring out how to fit around him. Teams don’t need pecking orders as much as they have to know who to turn to when adversity strikes.

Towns, because of his talent and demeanor, is that guy. He probably has been since he first took the court as a rookie. But a win against the Knicks would have solidified and underscored that status in a critical way.

Instead, a newly complicated dynamic arises.

Towns, having talked the talk and walked the walk, cannot plausibly follow losses by taking the blame now. He’s played that card, and by totally dominating without help, he can’t play it again. It was diplomatic and admirable to say the Wolves’ failures were on him before.

Now, saying the same thing again would read as a joke at best and disingenuous at worst.

I mean, this isn’t complicated, as NBA analyst Jared Dubin points out:

Towns sat for six minutes, during which the Wolves were outscored by nine points. That’s the game right there.

— Yaya Dubin (@JADubin5) December 1, 2016

This presents a fresh obstacle.

Towns has already said plenty and done more, and now he may just have to be patient with a roster that isn’t ready to support …

continue reading in source www.bleacherreport.com