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The NBA recently witnessed a controversial act of shoe-throwing when Denver Nuggets wing Will Barton discarded the lost sneaker of Houston Rockets counterpart Trevor Ariza in an attempt to get a leg up on the competition. Barton received a technical foul, but his resourcefulness will live on forever.
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However, Minnesota Timberwolves center and Rookie of the Year favorite Karl-Anthony Towns showed that shoe-related ingenuity does not have to involve negation. Roughly two minutes into Monday's road game against the San Antonio Spurs, Towns's teammate Andrew Wiggins lost his shoe on an awkward step towards the perimeter. Towns picked up the sneaker but thoughtfully did not toss his friend's possession like a piece of garbage. Instead, he held on for the rest of the Wolves' defensive stand:
It's important to note that Towns did his job during this possession — he tracked Tony Parker through the lane and stepped out to the perimeter for a light trap before Parker passed to LaMarcus Aldridge for a shot blocked by Tayshuan Prince. It's even possible to argue that the sneaker aided him in this task, because it added a few inches to Towns's already impressive wingspan. It's not so easy to pass around a much bigger player who happens to be wielding a large shoe.
Towns finished with a solid 10 points and 12 rebounds in 30 minutes. This dunk wasn't half-bad, either:
But he and the Wolves could have used that shoe on more possessions as Spurs center Boban Marjanovic scored 17 points while making all seven of his field goals. Minnesota played San Antonio closely but fell 101-95.
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[Follow Dunks Don't Lie on Tumblr:*The best slams from all of basketball]
However, Minnesota Timberwolves center and Rookie of the Year favorite Karl-Anthony Towns showed that shoe-related ingenuity does not have to involve negation. Roughly two minutes into Monday's road game against the San Antonio Spurs, Towns's teammate Andrew Wiggins lost his shoe on an awkward step towards the perimeter. Towns picked up the sneaker but thoughtfully did not toss his friend's possession like a piece of garbage. Instead, he held on for the rest of the Wolves' defensive stand:
It's important to note that Towns did his job during this possession — he tracked Tony Parker through the lane and stepped out to the perimeter for a light trap before Parker passed to LaMarcus Aldridge for a shot blocked by Tayshuan Prince. It's even possible to argue that the sneaker aided him in this task, because it added a few inches to Towns's already impressive wingspan. It's not so easy to pass around a much bigger player who happens to be wielding a large shoe.
Towns finished with a solid 10 points and 12 rebounds in 30 minutes. This dunk wasn't half-bad, either:
But he and the Wolves could have used that shoe on more possessions as Spurs center Boban Marjanovic scored 17 points while making all seven of his field goals. Minnesota played San Antonio closely but fell 101-95.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!Follow @FreemanEric