DALLAS - After struggling mightily through three games in the Western Conference finals, shooting just 4-for-32 from 3, a defiant Karl-Anthony Towns stayed confident in the face of criticism.
"I'm putting up 1,500 shots a day out there," he told reporters, a claim that has been widely criticized as an embellishment.
On Tuesday night (Wednesday, Manila time), with the Minnesota Timberwolves facing elimination, KAT reminded everyone why he was the NBA's 3-point shooting champion in 2022.
The 7-foot American-Dominican silenced the mob by delivering 25 points on a sizzling 4-of-5 fare from long distance. His 2 treys in the final 5:05 of play helped hold off the Mavericks, 102-97, in front of a stunned home crowd 0f 20,477.
"Never a doubt in my mind," Towns told reporters of his swift turnaround and Minnesota's capacity to become the first team among 165 to win a best-of-seven series after trailing 0-3.
Another NBA Finals appearance for the Mavs, the first since they won it all in 2011 with Dirk Nowitzki, was almost a sure thing for the Mavs when they hosted Game 4 against a wobbly, wounded adversary.
A NEW LEASE ON LIFE.
But the Timberwolves bit back hard, and like a pack they came in droves, in full force.
Anthony Edwards finished with 29 points and 10 rebounds. Jaden McDaniels hit for 10. Michael Conley directed the offense with 7 dimes to go with 14 markers and Rudy Gobert had 10 points and 10 boards.
As usual, Naz Reid came off the bench with 6 points and 5 rebounds, making an impact in 22 minutes.
More than anything else, it was the poise the young Timberwolves showed that carried the night.
Luka Doncic, aware that the Boston Celtics are already in the Finals, tried to will the Mavericks to a victory with a triple-double of 28 points 15 rebounds and 10 assists.
This time though, Luka was short on magic, hitting just 7-of-21 shots with three turnovers.
Kyrie Irving, who has been huge for Dallas through this postseason, also couldn't get it going. He missed 12 of his 18 shots and coughed up four turnovers.
MISSED OPPORTUNITY.
And PJ Washington took a night off with just 10 points on 2-13 shooting. Everytime Minnesota blitzed Doncic, PJ found himself wide open for 3s but he went just 2-for-9 above the arc.
With one cold shooting spell, the Mavs missed a chance to rest early for the championship round.
Beyond that, the danger lurks in giving the Timberwolves life.
Game 5 shifts to Minnesota where the Target Center will be loud and frenzied on Friday morning (Manila time).
Had the Mavs won last night, there would have been nine days off before the Finals started on June 6 (June 7 in Manila).
Instead, the Western Conference finals roars on. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.
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