Wolves center Karl-Anthony Towns finished Wednesday’s Wolves-Wizards game with a 34-point, 10-rebound performance in Minnesota’s 115-107 road loss. He was once again fantastic amid a strong season for him, but he did have to leave the game early after slipping off the rim on a dunk in the fourth quarter.
KAT slipped off the rim after a dunk and landed hard on his tailbone pic.twitter.com/WAtYcnoiAO
— Internet #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) December 2, 2021
Towns, it appears, had too much momentum going forward as he completed the dunk, causing him to fall hard onto his tailbone as he finished the dunk. The play put him in obvious pain, causing him to leave the game to be examined on the bench while lying down. Before the game ended, Towns went to the locker room, presumably for further examination.
At this time, it’s not clear how severe the injury is. It’s a scary fall to see considering he fell straight back after finishing the dunk. The hope would be that it’s nothing serious and that he won’t have to miss any time, or, at the worst, he would only miss a handful of games. With a showdown with the East leading Nets in Brooklyn on Friday, Minnesota will be hoping their star is only sore and able to give it a go against one of the best teams in the NBA.
If Towns is out for any period of time, it could be a blow to Minnesota as they jockey for position in the Western Conference. Currently, they are 11-11 and in the thick of the playoff picture. It’s early, but in a competitive conference, every game matters.
UPDATE: Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, X-rays returned negative on Towns, which is obviously a good sign.
X-rays on the lower back of Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns returned negative, source tells ESPN. KAT landed hard on his back in Minnesota’s loss to Wizards tonight. He had 34 and 10 before leaving game.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 2, 2021