Timberwolves' Towns writes name in NBA history with big game
Karl-Anthony Towns did more than break the Minnesota Timberwolves' single-game record when he scored 56 points and grabbed 15 boards on Wednesday night.
He added his name to the NBA history books.
Towns became the third player in league history to record a game with 50+ points, 15+ rebounds and at least five makes from 3-point land in one game, joining Houston's James Harden and Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook.
Westbrook achieved the feat in the final week of his MVP 2016-17 season.
| PLAYER | DATE | PTS | REB | 3PM |
| Karl-Anthony Towns, Timberwolves | 3/28/18 | 56 | 15 | 6 |
| Russell Westbrook, Thunder | 4/09/17 | 50 | 16 | 5 |
| James Harden, Rockets | 12/31/16 | 53 | 16 | 9 |
There have been 13 50-point games in the NBA this season from 10 different players, and only five of those contests have resulted in a double-double.
Harden, the frontrunner for MVP this season has two of them: 60 points, 11 assists (and 10 rebounds too, for good measure) in January against Orlando and a 56-point, 13-assist effort vs. Utah in November. Towns, LeBron James and Anthony Davis round out the other two 50-point double-double games this season.
NOTABLE
-- The Timberwolves are looking for their fourth win over the Dallas Mavericks this season when they travel to the American Airlines Center on Friday night. It would be the first time Minnesota swept the Mavericks since 1995-96.
-- Minnesota has a 19-5 record when racking up 25+ assists in games this season. When the Timberwolves have less than 25 assists, they have a 24-28 record.
-- Dallas averages the least amount of turnovers per game in the NBA at 12.4. The Timberwolves aren't far behind, coming in third with 12.6.
-- Mavericks' Doug McDermott is shooting at a 54.9 percent clip from downtown since Feb. 10, which ranks second in the NBA behind Charlotte's Frank Kaminsky.
-- Future Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki has an effective field goal percentage of 54.9 percent in 2017-18, the highest of his storied 20-year career.
Statistics courtesy STATS
