Following the match, Karl-Anthony Towns stated his dad there meant”what” into him.
“He knew how angry I was following the reduction,” Towns said. “But he came to me, and he told me something that I do not know if he should have told me. It got me a bit emotional. He told me that my mother would have been pleased with how I played with tonight.”
Towns Sr. was among the earliest fans in Barclays Center on Monday. He walked down the steps ahead of the courtroom and smiled and waved as his son moved via layup lines, snapping photographs and videos.
“Me and my father got psychological prior to the match,” Towns said. “Since he left his presence known. It affected me as my mother always did this.”
Cruz-Towns was a continuous presence at Timberwolves games. She’d often sit close to the courtroom, visit opposing players she’d gotten to know through time, and has been famous for loudly and excitedly cheering on her or her son.
Towns shared that his mum was in a medically induced coma and was put on a ventilator due to the virus on March 25, 2020. Towns Sr. had been diagnosed with COVID-19, was hospitalized and recovered.
Towns, who grew up in New Jersey, had approximately a dozen relatives in attendance at Monday’s match to encourage him.
“It was actually the first time with family playing person,” said Towns, who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 in January. “And it is crazy seeing my daddy. I am like,’Where is my mother? She is gonna come’ And, of course, she is not gonna appear. That influenced mepersonally, but I really go out there and perform with the very best I could for this group.”
Then, he remained and played tag with his niece and nephew on the courtroom as Barclays Center workers switched out the lights.
“It is psychological,” Towns Sr. told ESPN. “I am happy to be back encouraging him. It is what she would have wanted, also.”
