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Anthony Edwards miraculously hit his head on the rim Thursday in Indianapolis while making a game-saving block in the Minnesota Timberwolves’ win over the Indiana Pacers.
But the biggest news on the night had to do with power forward Karl-Anthony Towns, who will have surgery next week to address a meniscus tear in his left knee.
The All-Star will miss at least four weeks, the team said. That would mean, at minimum, Towns will be sidelined for at least 13 more games — the majority of first-place Minnesota’s remaining regular-season schedule. However, there remains optimism that the 28-year-old will be available when Minnesota enters the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
Towns did not play in the Wolves’ win at Indiana on Thursday night. Despite that, Minnesota won 113-111 on a miraculous last-second block by Edwards, who appeared to hit his head on the rim while rejecting a layup attempt by the Pacers’ Aaron Nesmith.
‘I hit my head, I think on the rim,’ Edwards told Bally Sports North afterwards. ‘It’s hurting real bad. And I landed on my wrist. I ain’t never jumped that high in my life.’
Minnesota center Rudy Gobert added 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Timberwolves as the Timberwolves moved into the top spot in the Western Conference, one-half game ahead of Oklahoma City.
WHAT A BLOCK 😱ANT EDWARDS SKIES FOR THE REJECTION TO WIN THE GAME ‼️ pic.twitter.com/W0lqPOkTzT
— NBA (@NBA) March 8, 2024
Minnesota won 113-111 on a miraculous last-second block by Anthony Edwards, who appeared to hit his head on the rim while rejecting a last-second layup by the Pacers’ Aaron Nesmith
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) celebrates the win over Indiana Pacers
Karl-Anthony Towns will have surgery next week to address a meniscus tear in his left knee
‘His sH๏τ was next level,’ Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said when asked about Edwards. ‘Even when we double-teamed him, he got away from us. Look, he’s a great player and that’s why every second of every minute of every game matters.’
As for Towns, the team revealed after the game that an MRI exam, performed Wednesday, showed the meniscus tear.
‘Further updates will be provided when available,’ the team said.
The ninth-year forward is averaging 22.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game while making a career-best 42.3 percent from 3-point range.
Before Thursday, he had missed only one previous game because of injury this season, for left knee soreness on December 23, and showed no obvious signs of trouble in a victory Monday against Portland — although he played only 21 minutes, his second-lowest total this season.
Minnesota coach Chris Finch believes the Timberwolves can adjust to a stint without Towns.
‘It’s not a plug-in one person to fill Karl’s role kind of situation,’ he said. ‘What I love about our team is that we have a mulтιтude of options. We can go a lot of different ways based on matchups on any given night. We’ve started different guys through the season anyway.’
