Karl-Anthony Towns opens up on Game 2 benching in loss to Mavericks

Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns.

The Minnesota Timberwolves fell into a 2-0 hole in the Western Conference Finals against the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night with a 109-108 loss. Luka Doncic was the headliner of the night, knocking down a game-winning three-pointer over Rudy Gobert with 3.1 seconds remaining.

But one story that took a backseat due to both Doncic's stellar shot and the Wolves dropping back-to-back home games is the late-game benching of Karl-Anthony Towns. The four-time NBA All-Star spent the entire fourth quarter on the bench, with head coach Chris Finch opting to ride the hot hand of Naz Reid.

After the game, Towns was asked about the decision and responded with the perfect level of grace and a team-first mentality he and the Wolves have shown all season, as The Athletic's Jon Krawczynski revealed.

“I’m with winning, so whatever it takes to win,” Towns said. “Naz has it going. Coach’s decision, I’m fully supportive of my coaching staff. Wouldn’t question them one bit. Of course, I’m always going to be ready to play whenever he calls. Naz got it going, our team was playing well.”

It wasn't surprising to see Reid remain on the floor throughout the fourth quarter after his impressive game, in which he finished with 23 points while knocking down 7-of-9 three-point attempts. But it was noteworthy to see his minutes come in place of one of the team's best players and one of the league's top big men.

It's been a tough start to the series against the Mavericks for Towns, who's shot 27.8 percent from the field and 21.4 percent from beyond the arc through two games. He's averaged 15.5 points and 7.0 rebounds, but struggled immensely in Game 2, knocking down 25 percent of his attempts and just 1-of-5 from three-point range.

The Timberwolves need Towns to get going offensively to turn this series around, especially with the next two games on the road in Dallas. Obviously, we've seen Minnesota get the job done on the road before, as it not only won the first two games in the second round against the Denver Nuggets on the road but also pulled out an impressive Game 7 win to advance to the Western Conference Finals.

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