Top 5 Timberwolves Games: Best individual performances of 2017-18

When the Timberwolves lost Jimmy Butler to a knee injury in late February, they were clinging to a top-four seed in the Western Conference playoff picture, but only a couple of games separated them from being out of the playoff hunt entirely.

Indeed, the Wolves went just 9-9 in Butler’s absence, but entered the final two weeks of the season needing to win at least five of their final seven games in order to get to postseason play.

Perhaps more importantly, Minnesota was coming off of the worst loss of the season against a tanking Memphis team just 48 hours prior. The Wolves needed a jolt, and KAT gave it to them in a big way.

Towns put up a franchise-record 56 points, knocking down six of his eight 3-point attempts and putting the pedal to the floor down the stretch as a bad Hawks team tried to hang around and ruin the Wolves season.

And while the Hawks were a terrible team on both ends of the court in 2017-18, a 56-point game is nothing to sneeze at, and especially not under the circumstances that the Wolves were facing. Following this win, the Wolves squeaked past the Mavericks two nights later before dropping two straight and needing to win three consecutive games to make the playoffs.

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Butler returned for the final two games, and the two All-Stars dragged their squad across the finish line to cement the Wolves’ first playoff spot in 14 years.