Minneapolis/St. Paul – The NBA today named Minnesota Timberwolves forward/center Karl-Anthony Towns as its NBA Western Conference Player of the Week for the week of March 6-12. The Player of the Week award is Towns’ first of the season and second of his career. He previously was named Player of the Week for Apr. 4-10, 2016.
For the week, Towns averaged 29.0 points, 12.3 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and 37.7 minutes per game while shooting 63.3 percent (38-for-60) from the field. Minnesota went 2-1 on the week, highlighted by wins over the NBA’s #1 seed (Golden State) and the West's #5 seed (L.A. Clippers). Minnesota has won six of its last nine contests to pull within 3.5 games of a playoff spot.
Towns opened the week with a 29-point, 14-rebound performance in a win vs. the Los Angeles Clippers. He went 14-of-18 from the field and recorded his 100th career double-double. Towns (21y113d) became the second-youngest player in NBA history to reach the 100 double-double mark (Dwight Howard, 20y351d).
Two days later, Towns tallied 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds to help the Wolves defeat the Golden State Warriors, who entered the game with the NBA’s best record. He finished the week with 35 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks in a loss at Milwaukee. It was Towns’ 13th 30+ point effort of the season and he was 14-for-21 from the field in that game.
Towns has scored 20+ points in 20 straight games, the longest streak in club history and the longest current streak in the NBA. He leads the NBA in points in the paint (904 points/13.9 per game) and second-chance points (319 points/4.9 per game), ranks second in double-doubles (49), 13th in scoring (24.2 ppg), sixth in rebounding (12.4 rpg), 14th in blocked shots (1.42 bpg), 15th in field goal percentage (53.2%) and sixth in minutes (36.7 mpg).