Hornets spoil Karl-Anthony Towns career-best 62 points, beat Wolves

The Charlotte Hornets spoiled Karl-Anthony Towns’ career night with a come-from-behind 128-125 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center.

Towns scored a career-best 62 points, but the Hornets came through with a 36-18 fourth quarter to steal the game in the Wolves' den.

The 6-foot-11 big man surpassed his previous career-best of 60 points and set a new franchise record in the process. Towns put up 44 big points in the first half, which is the fourth-most points scored in a half in the play-by-play era (since 1997-98).

However, he only scored 4 points in the fourth quarter as the Hornets keyed in on him defensively while making tough shots of their own. Brandon Miller, Terry Rozier and Miles Bridges all contributed to the game-changing run in the fourth to give Charlotte just its 10th win of the season.

Despite the loss, Towns made history in several other categories:

• Seventh player in NBA history with multiple 60-point games
• First player in NBA history with 10+ two-point makes, 10+ three-point makes and 10+ free-throw makes in a single game
• First center in NBA history with 60+ points and 10+ threes in a game 
• Most points in a loss since Devin Booker’s 70-point game

Along with Joel Embiid’s historic 70-point night, tonight was the first time in 45 years that two players scored 60 points or more on the same night (and the fourth such instance in NBA history).

Minnesota’s loss drops their record to 30-13. Although they are still the No. 1 seed in the West, they are now in danger of relinquishing the top spot for the first time since November with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets right on their heels. Tomorrow, the Thunder play the Blazers while the Nuggets play the Pacers, and both teams have a chance to tie the Wolves atop the West.