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BBNBA: KAT Carries Wolves in OT

Wynn-McDonaldby:Wynn McDonald•02/16/22•

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Karl-Anthony Towns
Photo via @Timberwolves

With the NBA All-Star Weekend mere days away, the league’s stars are getting in their final licks before the festivities. The BBN’s two representatives in the big game led the way with winning performances on Tuesday. Sometimes, these things just write themselves.

“Act like a superstar:” Towns steps up in OT win

The Minnesota Timberwolves are getting used to winning ugly. After gutting out a comeback win over the Pacers on Sunday, Minny followed it up with 126-120 overtime victory against the Hornets last night for No. 31 on the season. In his second-to-last game before Sunday’s All-Star contest, Karl-Anthony Towns recorded a beastly double-double with 39 points and 15 boards. With the Wolves trailing by six with four minutes left in regulation, Towns scored 10 straight points — including back-to-back threes — to put his team back in position.

In overtime, Towns led the way again with seven points to secure the win. He summed up the performance nicely: “You call yourself a superstar, you’ve got to act like a superstar.” 

The Wolves also got double-doubles from D’Angelo Russell (18 points, 11 assists) and Jarred Vanderbilt (10 points, 14 rebounds) in the win, which kept them within a game and a half of Denver for sixth place in the West. For Charlotte, Miles Bridges led the way with 28 and 13 and LaMelo Ball scored 22 before fouling out. P.J. Washington started for just the fifth time this season, but managed only three points on 1-5 shooting (all beyond the arc).

Booker’s 26 lifts Suns over Clippers

On Sunday, both Towns and Devin Booker will be suiting up on Team Durant in the All-Star Game — but for now, Booker will settle for leading the best team in the league on a nightly basis. His latest ho-hum achievement came in the form of a game-high 26 points in Phoenix’s 103-96 win over the Clippers on Tuesday night.

The win made six straight and 17 of 18 for the top team in the West. This game wasn’t a blowout by any means, but there is a certain sense of inevitability at this point.

After that play, the Suns held their lead until the final buzzer. They were buoyed by a 17-point, 14-assist effort from Chris Paul along with 12-and-12 on the glass from DeAndre Ayton. Marcus Morris Sr. scored 23 for the Clippers, who kept it close but weren’t able to build any real momentum in the second half.

Phoenix has one more test before the break tonight against the Rockets. If they win, they could match the 2016 Warriors for most wins before the All-Star break with 48.

Celtics roll Sixers for ninth straight win

In the East, there may not be a hotter team than the Boston Celtics. They haven’t lost a game since acquiring Derrick White and Daniel Theis (and shedding Enes Freedom) at the trade deadline. On Tuesday, they made it nine straight Ws with a thorough 135-87 domination of the 76ers.

The Celtics were led by a combined 57 points from their two stars, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. More impressively, they easily shut down MVP frontrunner Joel Embiid.

It was a relatively quiet night for Tyrese Maxey, who scored 11 points on just 3-11 shooting. Maxey has been terrific this season, but he could see his role diminished when James Harden makes his Sixers debut in the coming days.

Boston makes its final stand of the first half against the Pistons tonight, while Philly heads to Milwaukee for a heavyweight TNT clash on Thursday.

Today in the NBA

7:00 – Hawks (Knox) @ Magic

7:30 – Pistons (Diallo, Lyles) @ Celtics

7:30 – Wizards @ Pacers (Jackson*)

7:30 (ESPN) – Nets @ Knicks (Randle, Quickley, Noel)

8:00 – Kings (Fox) @ Bulls

8:00 – Trail Blazers (Bledsoe) @ Grizzlies

8:00 – Raptors @ Timberwolves (Towns, Vanderbilt)

8:00 – Spurs (Johnson) @ Thunder (SGA)

9:00 – Rockets (Wall) @ Suns (Booker)

10:00 – Nuggets (Cousins, Murray*) @ Warriors

10:00 (ESPN) – Jazz @ Lakers (Davis, Monk)

* – inactive

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2025-04-23