Denver Nuggets vs. Minnesota Timberwolves, Game 6

The Timberwolves and Nuggets play tonight at Target Center in Game 6 of their best-of-seven NBA Western Conference semifinal series. Denver leads 3-2 and can finish the series with a win tonight. Star Tribune reporter Chris Hine publishes these reports live:

Shootaround update: KAT to leave despite bruised knee

Karl-Anthony Towns said he got “kneed” in the left leg by a Denver player in the first quarter of Game 5 Tuesday in Denver, and that’s why Towns fell to the ground and appeared to be in a lot of pain at this moment.

The Timberwolves All-Star center played through the injury, which occurred in the same leg where he had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in March, even after limping significantly in the moments following the injury.

Heading into Game 6, with the Timberwolves’ season on the line, how does Towns feel?

“I’m playing tonight, so it doesn’t matter,” Towns said after Thursday’s shootout. “Does that answer everyone’s questions about my knee?”

Towns didn’t really want to discuss the injury or how it might change the way he plays.

“I’m playing tonight. That’s all that matters. I’ll worry about it later,” Towns said.

Towns isn’t the only one playing injured heading into Game 6. Point guard Mike Conley is questionable due to a right soleus strain that kept him out of Game 5. Conley was in attendance at the Wolves’ shootaround and with a do or die game. game he is likely to try to play.

The Wolves may have all hands on deck for a playoff game, but they need to do a better job of keeping their composure even as they face the end of their season, forward Kyle Anderson said.

“I just have to stick with it. I think they’re a really good team because they’re able to stay calm in a lot of tough situations,” Anderson said. “You see it in the Lakers series, you see it in this series against us. That has to be our mindset too. That’s what good teams do. They stay calm in those tough situations.”