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Timberwolves head coach rips team after loss despite 62 points from Karl-Anthony Towns: ‘Immature basketball’

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Timberwolves head coach rips team after loss despite 62 points from Karl-Anthony Towns: ‘Immature basketball’

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Karl-Anthony Towns may have scored a Minnesota Timberwolves franchise-record 62 points, but Minnesota didn’t come away with a victory. 

The Timberwolves blew an 18-point lead and lost 128-125 to the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night. 

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Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch during the Pistons game at Little Caesars Arena on Jan. 17, 2024, in Detroit. (Nic Antaya/Getty Images)

Minnesota head coach Chris Finch lit into his team, focusing on the lack of defensive effort. 

LEBRON JAMES COMPLAINS OVER NO FOUL CALL AS HE’S LEFT WITH BLOODY SCRATCH MARKS: ‘I GIVE UP MAN’

“It was an absolute disgusting performance of defense and immature basketball. All the way through the game. So, it really didn’t slip away. It had been there from the jump. This is what happens when you have this type of approach,” Finch said after the game. 

Towns shot just 2 of 10 from the field in the fourth quarter as Minnesota was outscored 36-18 in the final frame after entering the fourth with a 15-point lead. 

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“I mean, there’s lots of times when, just because you’ve scored two or three or four points in a row, or baskets in a row… you know obviously we’re going to try to feed a hot hand, look for a hot hand. But at some point, we got to get back to making the right play, we got to get back to doing the right things,” Finch said when discussing the way his team played after Towns’ hot start. 

“There’s a lot of ways to be immature. There’s always a lot of ways to be immature. And there were a lot of immature performances throughout the roster. We totally disrespected the game, ourselves, and we got exactly what we deserved.”

Leaky Black, left, of the Charlotte Hornets celebrates drawing a foul against the Minnesota Timberwolves with Brandon Miller at Target Center on Jan. 22, 2024, in Minneapolis. The Hornets won 128-125. (David Berding/Getty Images)

The Hornets got a 27-point performance from rookie Brandon Miller, with Miles Bridges adding 28 points as Charlotte shot a season-high 58.1% from the field. 

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Minnesota has been the best team in the Western Conference for the season and still holds a half-game edge over the Oklahoma City Thunder for the top spot in the conference. 

“There’s no moral victories,” Towns said. “It was cool when we were saying that when we were 15-30 (in previous seasons).

Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves during the game against the Charlotte Hornets on Jan. 22, 2024, at Target Center in Minneapolis. (Jordan Johnson/NBAE via Getty Images)

“But we’re No. 1 in the West, one of the best teams in NBA; there ain’t no time for moral victories, silver linings, ‘great night, but just not a finish we wanted’ – we’ve got to find a way to win. It’s about winning the game. It’s about staying No. 1 in the West. It’s about protecting our home court more, most importantly above all things.”

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Towns wasn’t the only big man to have a monster night, with Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid scoring 70 points Monday night against the San Antonio Spurs. 

Embiid became just the ninth NBA player to score 70 points in a game. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Mike Breen says fans ‘deserve to be thrown a bone’ as NBA cuts all local broadcasts from the playoffs

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Mike Breen says fans ‘deserve to be thrown a bone’ as NBA cuts all local broadcasts from the playoffs

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Mike Breen, the New York Knicks’ play-by-play announcer and star NBA voice with ESPN, is not happy with a key league move heading into the NBA Playoffs.

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And he didn’t hold back his frustrations during the Knicks’ regular-season finale on Sunday night.

For the first time in NBA history, all local network broadcasts are being pushed out of the playoffs for nationally televised games. Those networks paid a premium to air the playoffs, but the league had always allowed the local home broadcast to be aired as well as the national TV spots in previous seasons.

ESPN play-by-play sports commentator Mike Breen looks on prior to the game between the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center on Feb. 25, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Celtics defeated the 76ers 110-107. (Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

Breen, alongside his longtime partner, Knicks great Walt “Clyde” Frazier, ripped the league’s decision on the final day of his broadcasting duties for the Eastern Conference squad.

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“First time ever that no longer can the home team announcers and broadcasters televise the first round,” Breen mentioned during the 110-96 loss to the Charlotte Hornets while broadcasting on MSG.

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“The entire playoffs are exclusive to national TV broadcasters. I mentioned this earlier this season. I think, personally, Clyde, it’s a poor decision. Fans want to hear their home team announcers, at least in the first round. For so many of us, they become part of the family.”

Breen added that he understands “the networks pay a fortune for exclusivity,” granted he works for one of those networks on ESPN.

“But fans deserve to be thrown a bone once in a while in terms of letting the home team have a little bit of the first round,” he continued.

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The NBA reached a whopping $76 billion broadcast rights deal that kicked in at the start of this season, and it will last for the next 11 seasons. Like other pro sports leagues, the deal is carved out across various platforms, both long-standing networks and streaming.

ESPN play-by-play announcer Mike Breen calls the game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 17, 2024. (Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports)

While the NBA got together the deal it liked with Disney, Amazon and NBCUniversal, Breen hopes it would consider working something out to get local broadcasters back into the fold for the playoffs.

However, he knows how the business is at the end of the day.

“Somehow, if there’s any way they can work out some kind of compromise, I’m not hopeful for that, but it would be wonderful to have it because this is our final telecast of the season,” Breen said.

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Breen, now, will focus on his ESPN duties as the lead commentator for the “Worldwide Leader” on the court. His famous “Bang!” call on clutch three-pointers has been synonymous with the biggest moments in the NBA Playoffs for years now, and that will get started very soon as teams in both the East and West gun for their shot at the Larry O’Brien Trophy and to call themselves NBA Finals champions.

The Oklahoma City Thunder, the reigning Finals champs, are the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference once again, while teams like the San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers will battle them to be crowned conference champions.

Mike Breen looks on before the game between the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Lakers during Round 2 Game 3 of the Western Conference Semi-Finals 2023 NBA Playoffs on May 6, 2023 at Crypto.Com Arena in Los Angeles, California. (Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty Images)

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In the East, Breen’s Knicks own the No. 3 seed, while the Detroit Pistons (No. 1) and Boston Celtics (No. 2) had successful regular-season campaigns to earn a top spot heading into the playoffs.

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The Play-In Tournament will be the first games for the NBA Playoffs, which will stream exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. Then, the first round will split its tipoffs on NBC/Peacock, Prime Video and ESPN.

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Jonathan Quick, who won two Stanley Cup titles with Kings, announces retirement from NHL

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Jonathan Quick, who won two Stanley Cup titles with Kings, announces retirement from NHL

New York Rangers goalkeeper Jonathan Quick is calling it a career after 19 NHL seasons and three Stanley Cup championships — with 16 of those seasons and two championships as a member of the Kings.

The 40-year-old goalie told reporters Monday that he would be playing in his final game that night when the Rangers visit the Florida Panthers. It will mark Quick’s 921st game appearance, counting playoffs.

“Tonight will be my last game in the league, and I am looking forward to it,” Quick said following the morning skate ahead at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. “My wife flew down with the kids, my parents will be here. I am looking forward to this last one, try to get one more win here.”

He added of his decision: “It just felt right. Felt like the right time. I put some thought into it.”

Selected by the Kings in the third round of the 2005 draft, Quick became a fixture in front of the net for L.A. during the 2008-09 season. He was a key member of the Kings’ Stanley Cup champion teams in 2012 and 2014, earning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs with a 16-4 record, a .946 save percentage and 1.41 goals-against average.

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Quick won a silver medal as a backup goaltender for the U.S. at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, although he did not see any playing time. At the 2014 Sochi Games, Quick went 3-2 as the starting goalie for the fourth-place U.S. team.

By March 2023, Quick was the Kings’ leader among goalies in the categories of total games (743), wins (370) and shutouts (57). At age 37, however, he had also lost a step or two. The Kings traded him to the Columbus Blue Jackets, who turned around and dealt him to the Vegas Golden Knights the next day.

Quick saw a decent amount of playing time down the stretch in the regular season because of injuries to the Golden Knights’ goaltenders. He didn’t make it into any games during the team’s championship run in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

After spending the last three seasons in New York, Quick is set to make his 70th and final start with the Rangers and add the final numbers to a stat line that currently includes 20,315 saves (18th most all time), 410 wins (12th most) and 65 shutouts (17th).

“He earned the respect of his teammates, coaches and staff members through his work ethic and dedication to his craft,” Rangers general manager Chris Drury said in a statement posted on social media. “Jonathan is a special person and player, and the entire Rangers organization wishes him — along with his wife, Jackie, and three children, Madison, Carter and Cash — all the best in retirement.”

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The Rangers are 33-38-9 and will miss the playoffs for the second straight season. They finish the year Wednesday night at Tampa Bay.

Another key member of the Kings championship teams, Anze Kopitar, also is retiring after this season, following 20 years in the NHL, all with L.A.

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ESPN star calls for 2017 Masters winner to have his lifetime exemption removed after meltdown

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ESPN star calls for 2017 Masters winner to have his lifetime exemption removed after meltdown

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ESPN star Mike Greenberg called for Sergio Garcia’s lifetime exemption into the Masters Tournament to be pulled after his antics on the course in the final round on Sunday.

Garcia received a code of conduct warning after he smashed his driver in frustration at Augusta National. He slammed his club into the turf twice after hitting a shot that ended up in the bunker. Then he took a swipe at a table with a green cooler on it.

ESPN personality Mike Greenberg is interviewed on radio row at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas, on Feb. 1, 2017, ahead of Super Bowl LI. (Jerry Lai/USA TODAY Sports)

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Greenberg seemingly saw Garcia’s anger as a detrimental issue.

“A lifetime exemption is a privilege extended by Augusta to its champions out of respect,” he wrote on X. “If that respect is not reciprocated, there is no law that says a past champ cannot be banned.

RORY MCILROY REPEATS AS MASTERS CHAMPION, JOINS RARE COMPANY AT AUGUSTA NATIONAL

Sergio Garcia lines up a putt on the second green during the first round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga., on Apr. 9, 2026. (Michael Madrid/Imagn Images)

“I’m not sure they should have Sergio Garcia back after the garbage he pulled today.”

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Garcia, who competes in LIV Golf, won the Masters in 2017. It is his only major victory of his career. Since winning in 2017, he only made the cut for the final two rounds once. The feat came at this year’s tournament. He finished 52nd in the field.

Sergio Garcia plays his shot on the seventeenth hole during the second round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga., on April 10, 2026. (Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)

He joined LIV Golf in 2022 as he was among the PGA Tour stars who left the organization. He has two wins in the series – at LIV Golf Andalucía in 2024 and LIV Golf Hong Kong in 2025. He played his way into a playoff four times, only winning the Andalucía event.

Fox News’ Ryan Morik contributed to this report.

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