No, your eyes are not deceiving you: Karl-Anthony Towns is a deadline scorer both inside and outside.
The Minnesota center has 56 dunks on the season -- which is actually 13 fewer than the number of 3-pointers he's made.
Towns is just one of five players in the NBA this season to have 40+ dunks and 40+ 3-pointers, joining Golden State's Kevin Durant (53 dunks, 91 3s), Orlando's Aaron Gordon (46, 73), Cleveland's LeBron James (61, 79) and New York's Kristaps Porzingis (46, 68).
Despite his size, Towns' 3-point prowess shouldn't come as a surprise. He nailed 101 3s last season and is the only Timberwolves player listed at 6-foot-11 or taller (Towns is 7-feet) to make more 37 3-pointers in a season. Kevin Garnett had two seasons of 30+ (30 and 37); Towns has 30+ in each of his first three seasons in the NBA.
But Towns isn't just chucking the ball up and hoping it goes in. This season the Wolves big man is making 41.6 percent of his 3-point attempts. Only two players in NBA history have averaged 20+ points and 10+ rebounds per game while also shooting 40+ percent from 3 (minimum 0.7 makes per team game) -- Boston's Larry Bird (21.3, 10.4, 40.6 in 1979-80 -- the first season the NBA adopted the 3-point line) and another Timberwolf, Kevin Love (20.2, 15.2, 41.7 in 2010-11). Towns (20.2, 12.0, 41.6 entering Tuesday's game) would be No. 3. Not too shabby.
In Minnesota's last three games (all wins) against Orlando, Tuesday's opponent, the Timberwolves have shot 44.0 percent from downtown. Bombs away!
Other notes:
-- Minnesota has outscored opponents 117.0-99.2 during its current five-game winning streak and is shooting 51.0 percent from the field during that span.
-- Orlando has lost seven straight and 16 of its last 17 games, its worst stretch since going 1-16 from Jan. 20-Feb. 23, 2013.
-- The Wolves have had all five starters score in double figures in 15 games this season, which is the most in the NBA.
-- Jimmy Butler is one of four players since Dec. 1 (minimum 15 games) who is averaging at least 25 points, five rebounds and five assists per game (he's at 25.0, 5.3 and 5.6). The others are Durant, James and Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook.
Statistics courtesy STATS and basketball-reference
