Karl-Anthony Towns on rookie wall: ‘I don’t know what that is’

Long after the Minnesota Timberwolves’ morning shoot-around had ended Monday, rookie center Karl-Anthony Towns spent some time working on pick-and-roll defense. Then he took a bunch of extra shots. Then, with just about everyone else gone, he and a couple of assistants had a little competition. They’d take two basketballs. Then they would throw one in the air, quickly take a three-point shot, catch the tossed ball and shoot again.

When it came to Towns’ turn: Swish, swish.

This, according to Towns, is a big reason he has not yet run head-first into the rookie wall.

“You guys see it,” said Towns, the first-year pro from the University of Kentucky. “You guys waited a long time for me to have this media thing. That’s what’s keeping me from hitting the so-called rookie wall. I work tremendously hard. I’m always one of the last people to leave the gym. So that’s what keeps me going.’’

With a bunch of injuries to big men recently, interim coach Sam Mitchell has leaned heavily on Towns and former Louisville player Gorgui Dieng. Towns has played more than 40 minutes twice in the past five games, more than 35 minutes four times.

But production-wise, Towns has shown no signs of dropping off. In seven February games he is averaging 20.9 points, 12.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks, and is shooting 51.4 percent. He scored a season-high 28 points Monday night and grabbed 13 rebounds.

“I’m still waiting for Karl to hit that rookie wall,” Mitchell said. “I ask him every day and he says, ‘Coach, I don’t know what that is.’ So if he doesn’t know, I’m not going to tell him.’’

Of course, one reason his numbers are rising is that his playing time is, too. When Towns started the season so well, many clamored for Mitchell to play the rookie more. Because Towns had played only one year in college — and because at Kentucky he didn’t play a lot of minutes — Mitchell was determined to monitor Towns’ minutes early in the season.

Towns averaged less than 28 minutes in the first 17 games through the end of November. That jumped to 30:27 in December, 31:10 in January and now 35:02 in February.

“Some people were killing me early in the year, saying I should be playing him 40 minutes,” Mitchell said. “I think I recall saying there would be enough games later in the season for me to stretch him out a little bit.’’

Close call

While Towns was happy with the outcome in Monday’s 124-122 victory over the Boston Celtics, a team that is in the upper echelon of the NBA’s Eastern Conference, he wasn’t happy that a late 10-point lead got unnecessarily tight.

“I’m upset,” said Towns, who also had four assists. “It’s hard to smile after a game like this. It should never have gotten to that point. We have to get better. We have to close out better.”

“It’s all great to win. But it’s better to do it in a better fashion.”

Stevens impressed

During one incredible stretch in the first quarter, Towns scored nine straight for the Wolves, including a baby hook on the baseline and a dazzling up-and-under move that left Tyler Zeller grasping at air and injured Wolves star Kevin Garnett jumping out of his seat on the bench and letting out a howl.

“Towns had his way with us the whole night,” Celtics Coach Brad Stevens told The Associated Press. “Obviously their other guys did, too, but certainly he stood out.”

This story was originally published February 23, 2016 at 4:39 PM with the headline "Karl-Anthony Towns on rookie wall: ‘I don’t know what that is’."