INDIANAPOLIS – Minnesota's Karl-Anthony Towns will have surgery next week to address a meniscus tear in his left knee, the Western Conference-leading Timberwolves announced Thursday night.
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 Minnesota's remaining regular-season schedule.
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He did not play in the Wolves' win at Indiana on Thursday night. 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% from 3-point range.
Before Thursday, he had missed only one previous game because of injury this season, for left knee soreness on Dec. 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.
Losing Towns will put more of a scoring burden on All-Star guard Anthony Edwards — who matched his season high with 44 points as the Wolves beat the Pacers 113-111 on Thursday night, a game that Edwards sealed with an incredible blocked shot just before the buzzer.
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 multitude 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.”
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