Towns hit in face, scores 37 to lead Wolves past Wizards
WASHINGTON » Karl-Anthony Towns recovered from a shot to the mouth that left him down on the court and finished with a season-high 37 points and 10 rebounds, leading the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 116111 victory over the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night.
Towns shot 13 for 17, including making all three of his 3-point attempts, and showed no ill effects after getting knocked in the face with about a minute left in the first half.
Entering the fourth quarter in this defense-optional contest, the Wizards were ahead 90-82. The hosts stretched that to a game-high edge of 10 points, at 95-85 with 10 minutes left.
But a 20-3 run capped by an inside basket from Andrew Wiggins off Towns’ assist put Minnesota up 105-98 with less than 5½ minutes to go. After the Wizards got within 111109, Towns sank a corner 3 with 29 seconds left to push the visitors’ lead back up to five.
Every starter scored at least 10 points for the Timberwolves, who were coming off a victory over the Golden State Warriors in their previous game. Wiggins scored 16, and Nemanja Bjelica had 17, plus eight rebounds and seven assists.
Markieff Morris led Washington with a season-high 27 points, and Bradley Beal added 19. MAVERICKS 110, KNICKS 97 » Harrison Barnes scored 30 points and Dallas turned around the game in the third quarter on its way to a victory over New York, which lost its eighth straight game.
Dallas couldn’t stop New York early, and then dominated the second half to win for the third time in four games, with only a loss to NBA-leading Houston in that stretch.
Rookie Dennis Smith Jr. added 17 points for the Mavs and Dirk Nowitzki had 13. Yogi Ferrell finished with 10, but eight came during a game-changing 14-0 run in the third quarter.
Curry out for at least another week
OAKLAND » Stephen Curry will miss at least another week because of his troublesome right ankle, which he re-injured last Thursday against San Antonio.
The Warriors said their two-time MVP would be re-evaluated in a week. That means he will sit out the next four games — Tuesday at home against the Lakers, Friday at home against the Kings, then road games at Phoenix on Saturday and at San Antonio on Monday.
Curry rolled his ankle driving left for a layup at the 9:38 mark of the first quarter in the win against the Spurs.
Golden State did not practice Tuesday as originally planned a day after the team celebrated Curry’s 30th birthday, which is actually Wednesday. Coach Steve Kerr was in attendance and even danced on stage with his players in social media videos that were shared of the festivities.