Karl-Anthony Towns shares emotional moment with crowd in return from injury

Towns finished third on the Timberwolves in scoring during his triumphant return to the court. The 27-year-old recorded 22 points (8-of-18 from the field, 2-of-3 from beyond the arc) while adding four rebounds, three assists and two steals against the Hawks. 

Naz Reid led the Minneosta way with 26 points, followed by Jaden McDaniels, who put up 25 points in the victory. 

Despite his long layoff, Towns looked spry for a guy who hadn't played an NBA game since Nov. 28. That should be a welcome sign for the Timberwolves, who are hoping their star's return will give the squad a boost in their pursuit of a playoff berth in the Western Conference. Following Wednesday's win over the Hawks, the Timberwolves improved to .500 at 37-37. 

Minnesota's last eight regular season contests will go a long ways toward determining the team's playoff fate. 

Only 2.5 games separate the Timberwolves from the fourth seed in the West, currently occupied by the Phoenix Suns (38-33). Minnesota is also only a game back of the Golden State Warriors (38-36) for the sixth seed and trail the Los Angeles Clippers (38-35) by 1.5 games for the fifth spot. But the margin for error is close on the downside, too.

While the Timberwolves hope to solidfy their playoff stock with Towns back in the lineup, they could still easily fall out of the postseason picture altogether. The team remains neck-and-neck with the eighth-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder (36-36) while several squads, including the Dallas Mavericks (36-37), Utah Jazz (35-36), Los Angeles Lakers (35-37) and New Orleans Pelicans (35-37) are still very much in the hunt.