The Timberwolves trailed by eight points entering the fourth quarter.
Nemanja Bjelica had 17 points and made a couple of key 3-pointers in the fourth quarter for Minnesota, which snapped a season-high three-game losing streak on Sunday with a 109-103 win over the Golden State Warriors.
Andrew Wiggins had 16 points, Jeff Teague scored 13, Jamal Crawford had 11 and Taj Gibson added 10 for Minnesota.
Markieff Morris had a season-high 27 points for Washington, hitting 10 of 15 shots from the floor.
Bradley Beal scored 19 points and Tomas Satoransky added 15 for the Wizards, who shot 42 of 82 (51.2 percent) from the field. The Timberwolves made 46 of 87 (52.9 percent) of their field-goal attempts.
Towns sank a 3-pointer that cut the Timberwolves' deficit to six early in the fourth quarter. Minnesota had a couple of key stops that changed the momentum of the game, and a 3-pointer by Bjelica tied the game 98-98 with 7:14 left.
Bjelica made another shot from beyond the arc and Wiggins made a short jumper that capped a 14-0 run and gave the Timberwolves a 105-98 lead with 5:13 remaining. Minnesota went 10 of 12 from the field without a turnover over that stretch.
Beal missed a couple of open looks from 3-point range, but a dunk by Washington's Otto Porter Jr. cut the margin to 109-106 with 1:52 left. A free throw by Beal pulled Washington to within two with just under a minute left.
After the Timberwolves called their final timeout, Towns hit his third 3-pointer to give Minnesota a 114-109 lead with 29 seconds to go. A dunk by Teague off a steal sealed the win.
The Wizards did receive some encouraging news regarding five-time All-Star guard John Wall, who has been out since Jan. 31 after having arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. He worked out with the team over the past few days and potentially could practice for the first time Friday.
The Timberwolves do not play again until Saturday, when they begin a stretch of three games in four days with a contest at San Antonio. The Wizards play at Boston on Wednesday.
--Field Level Media
Minnesota | Washington | |
Karl-Anthony Towns 37 | Scoring | Markieff Morris 27 |
Nemanja Bjelica 7 | Assists | Tomas Satoransky 7 |
Karl-Anthony Towns 10 | Rebounds | Ian Mahinmi 9 |
Karl-Anthony Towns 8 | Free Throws Made | Tomas Satoransky 6 |
Tyus Jones 2 | Steals | Tomas Satoransky 3 |
Karl-Anthony Towns 2 | Blocks | Marcin Gortat 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Minnesota | 116 | 52.9 | 7-21 | 17-19 | 23 | 37 | 7 | 10 | 10 |
Washington | 111 | 51.2 | 8-20 | 19-25 | 26 | 39 | 4 | 6 | 11 |