Field Level Media
22 Mar 2023, 12:49 GMT+10
The Minnesota Timberwolves could get a boost to their playoff hopes on Wednesday as standouts Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards might return to the lineup to face the visiting Atlanta Hawks.
Edwards, who averages 24.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.4 assists, hurt his right ankle against the Chicago Bulls on Friday and had to be helped off the court. He missed the past two games.
Towns has been out since late November with a right calf strain, and he was re-injured while rehabbing in January. Towns is averaging 20.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists in 21 games this season.
Minnesota coach Chris Finch downplayed the notion that both players would return on Wednesday.
"They're both in evaluation periods and they're definitely on separate timelines," he told WCCO-AM in Minneapolis. "Whether those timelines end up coming together at the same point, I'm not sure. They're very different."
Regarding Edwards, Finch said, "Ant always wants to play. He never thinks he's hurt, so hopefully it is feeling better, which he says it is. But in terms of pain tolerance, range of movement, stability, all those things, I think we're trying to figure out where that really is with him."
The team listed both players as questionable on the injury report filed Tuesday. Towns previously had been listed as out.
The Timberwolves won the first meeting of the season against Atlanta 136-115 on March 13. Atlanta's Trae Young had 41 points, his third game with 40-plus points in this campaign. Edwards put up 32 points for Minnesota.
The Timberwolves dropped two of three on their just-completed road trip, closing it with a 140-134 win over the New York Knicks on Monday. After the home game against Atlanta, Minnesota heads back on the road to face the Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns.
Minnesota (36-37) is tied for ninth place in the Western Conference but is only one game behind sixth-place Golden State, which occupies the final guaranteed playoff spot.
The Hawks (36-36) are coming off a 129-107 home win over the last-place Detroit Pistons on Tuesday.
All five starters scored in double figures as Atlanta scored 100-plus points for the 47th straight game, the second-longest streak in franchise history (behind a 53-game run in 1969-70) and the longest active streak in the NBA.
Atlanta is No. 8 in the East, three games behind No. 6 Brooklyn and one game ahead of No. 9 Toronto with 10 games left in the season.
"We knew we had to get the job done from the start (against Detroit)," said Atlanta's Clint Capela, who logged 12 points and 16 rebounds. "They're all big. We have to come up with urgency and energy, play good on defense and never get enough. There are 10 games left, and they're going to go by quick."
The Hawks are without reserve Jalen Johnson, who has missed three games with a left hamstring and groin sprain, and they may be missing Dejounte Murray, who sat out Tuesday due to a non-COVID illness. Bogdan Bogdanovic started in Murray's spot and scored 18 points, hitting a team-high four 3-pointers.
Young, who put up just nine points Sunday in Atlanta's loss to the San Antonio Spurs, scored 30 points and added 12 assists at Detroit for his 35th double-double. It was his 24th game with 30-plus points.
--Field Level MediaGet a daily dose of Canada Standard news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Canada Standard.
More InformationWASHINGTON, DC - U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday said he believed God was behind his election loss in 2020, even though he has...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Passenger numbers at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey have dropped sharply, according to...
BRUSSELS, Belgium: European Union antitrust regulators are examining fees imposed by payment giants Visa and Mastercard, Bloomberg...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The U.S. Army plans to change the records of transgender soldiers to list only their sex at birth, according to a...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said this week that it will require airlines to reduce the number of flights...
GAZA - The home of a doctor working in the emergency room at the Nasser Medical Complex in southern Gaza was struck by Israel Air...
Al-Ahsa [Saudi Arabia], May 27 (ANI): Cristiano Ronaldo scored, but Al Nassr lost what could be his last-ever game for the club by...
Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], May 27 (ANI): Royal Challengers Bengaluru stand-in captain Jitesh Sharma won the toss and opted to...
Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], May 27 (ANI): Royal Challengers Bengaluru stand-in captain Jitesh Sharma won the toss and opted to...
The suspect who drove a car into a crowd celebrating Liverpool Football Club's Premier League victory on Monday has been arrested on...
New Delhi [India], May 27 (ANI): Shreyas Iyer and Ricky Ponting scripted what plenty of captain-coach duos had failed to do for Punjab...
Jaipur (Rajasthan)[India], May 27 (ANI): After a wait of 11 years, Punjab Kings have secured a spot in the playoffs in the ongoing...