The Minnesota Timberwolves are still without their All-Star forward Jimmy Butler, but when Karl-Anthony Towns plays like he did on Wednesday night it's hard to tell. The young big man absolutely went off on the Atlanta Hawks, dropping 56 points, 15 rebounds and four assists in the Timberwolves' 126-114 victory.
Not only did he set a new personal career high for scoring, but Towns set the Timberwolves' franchise record for points in a game -- an impressive achievement considering Kevin Garnett played there for over a decade. But surprisingly, it wasn't Garnett who held the single-game record.
No, Towns passed ... Mo Williams? Yes, apparently Williams, who played just 41 games with the Timberwolves in his career, was the previous owner of the team's single-game scoring record.
Towns set the record late in the fourth quarter, when he buried a triple from the corner to seal the victory.
Towns was simply a machine against the undermanned Hawks, who did not exactly roll out their strongest squad. Still, to drop 56 is incredible. And to do it as efficiently as Towns did it is even more impressive. He missed just 13 shots on the night, going 19 of 32 from the field, including 6 of 8 from behind the arc.
Towns is the youngest player to record 50-plus points and 15-plus rebounds in a game since Shaquille O'Neal, who was about 100 days younger when he pulled off the feat back in 1994.