It seems like Karl-Anthony Towns has been with the Minnesota Timberwolves for a long time, but Friday was only the star’s 24th birthday. With several big birthday games a part of the history of all sports, one wouldn’t be surprised if Towns had a monster game en route to a Timberwolves victory over the Washington Wizards.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. With Andrew Wiggins missing the game due to personal reasons and a lethargic defensive effort, the Wizards came into Target Center and blew out all the candles along with the Timberwolves by picking up a 137-116 victory on Friday.
Even with the Wizards coming into the game with a 2-7 record, that didn’t stop Bradley Beal and Mo Wagner from having KAT’s cake and eating it too.
Beal had the biggest impact on the game for the Wizards even though the Timberwolves defense had to be keyed on on stopping Washington’s top offensive weapon. The guard put up a season-high 44 points and 10 assists, but the biggest surprise came from the game that Wagner put together.
The former Michigan product was a thorn in the side of the Gophers during his collegiate days but put together a similar performance against the Wolves on Friday night. Wagner came off the bench in relief of Thomas Bryant, who got into foul trouble early and the 6’11” German responded by putting together his best game of the year with 28 points and 13 rebounds.
With the Timberwolves defense being absent throughout this game, the Wizards took a 76-73 lead into halftime and blew the game open by outscoring Minnesota 61-43 in the second half.
Although Towns celebrated his birthday with a monster double-double (36 points, 10 rebounds), the Wolves never found their way back into the game even with four of five starters scoring in double figures.
The Timberwolves fell to 7-5 with the loss and won’t have much time to lick their wounds as they’ll host the Houston Rockets on Saturday night.
