Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant scored 31 points against the Timberwolves on 11-for-17 shooting Sunday in Game 1 of their NBA first-round playoff series.
The primary defender on Durant for most of that game was Karl-Anthony Towns.
“KD is just an unbelievable player, such a tough cover, we just wanted to put as much size on him as we possibly could,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said after Sunday’s game. “He had it going there. So many of those signature KD shots, and you just have to live with them at times, but I thought KAT really did a great job battling them, making it as hard as possible.”
And that’s really all Minnesota is asking Towns to do. It’s no secret the Wolves’ 7-footer is often the team’s worst defensive player in the game. He is special on offense, and average on the other end. But in Game 1 of this best-of-7 series against Phoenix — much like in last year’s first round against Denver — it’s Towns who has been called on to guard the other team’s best player. And he’s asked to do so without much help of any kind.
And in the end, what matters most is the Timberwolves won Game 1 by a score of 120-95.
The reasoning is sound — The Timberwolves will live with Durant or Nikola Jokic scoring 30 points a game if it means the ancillary offensive pieces are kept at bay.
In three regular-season games — all losses — the Timberwolves struggled to match up with the Suns. Towns was often chasing sharpshooting guard Grayson Allen around the court. So Phoenix was able to generate open looks for Allen at ease, and the Timberwolves spent much of their time on defense in some sort of scramble mode.
With Towns on Durant, Durant gets a lot of decent looks at shots he can knock down, but they often come out of isolation attacks that feature a lot of dribbling and, for his teammates, watching. It breeds stagnancy. Plus, all of Minnesota’s top-tier defenders are available to guard Phoenix’s other premier scorers.
Suddenly, the Suns’ potent offense becomes far simpler to contain in half-court sets. It’s a setup with which the Timberwolves have now had success against Denver and Phoenix. But the entire plan centers on Towns’ ability — and willingness — to compete in disadvantaged situations. He is set up to fail in the name of helping the Timberwolves succeed.
The casual onlooker will watch Towns give up 30 points and likely think he’s not doing his job on defense, when the opposite is actually true. No one likes to get scored on time and time again, but Towns exposes himself to criticism because it gives the Timberwolves their best chance to win.
“It’s fun when you get to compete against the best of the best. Last year, with Jokic, it was really fun to be able to guard, possibly, the three-time MVP, and a guy that I have tremendous respect for. This year, it’s the same thing,” Towns said. “I’ll take whatever challenge is needed for us to win, and if I’ve got to guard the best player and do what it takes to score, as well, I’ll do whatever it takes. I’ve never backed down from a challenge and I’ll continue to do that every single night for the rest of my career.”
This defensive matchup is just the latest example of Towns sacrificing to make the Timberwolves’ lineup work.
“Part of the secret of our success is KAT’s willingness to sacrifice on both ends of the floor and still find ways to make major impacts,” Finch said. “Finished second in scoring (Saturday), really efficient. Got to the free-throw line. Played physical (but) with intelligence. Thought it was outstanding. Gonna need more of it.”
Towns is putting himself out there defensively on the national stage. And, frankly, he did relatively well on Saturday.
It would be one thing if Durant was waltzing past Towns and driving for easy layups. But the Timberwolves big man is at least forcing Durant to settle for contested mid-range shots. And even if Durant knocks those down at a high clip, it’s by no means an easy form of offense.
“You know that they’re going to hit some really difficult shots, and we’re just going to have to live with those. My job is to make it as difficult as possible for them to even make one of those shots with great defense, then you’ve got to respect the offensive greatness that they possess,” Towns said. “It’s those kinds of guys you know you’re probably not going to be able to stop, you’ve just got to contain them as best as possible and make it difficult for them that night.”
“Looking back at a lot of those shots KD hit, they were superhuman,” Finch said. “You just have to compete your best, and KAT has done that all year.”
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