Karl-Anthony Towns injury update: What caused the Minnesota Timberwolves star to leave court and what’s the latest status?

Karl-Anthony Towns had to be helped off the court after falling down with a non-contact injury he suffered during the third period of the Minnesota Timberwolves game against the Washington Wizards. KAT was escorted back to the locker room.

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, there is optimism that the star center is safe from dealing with a serious injury. Towns is yet to undergo an MRI to check on the status of his lower right leg. Sources told ESPN about this development on his status and are expecting good news after the check-up.

"Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star forward Karl-Anthony Towns will undergo an MRI on his right calf on Tuesday," Woj wrote. "But there is early optimism that he might have avoided a substantial injury to his lower right leg, sources told ESPN on Monday night."

As Towns fell to the floor, he grabbed onto his right leg and wasn't able to get up on his own. While many suspected an injury as serious as an Achilles tendon tear, it's still unclear as to what the big man is going through. He was assisted off the court by his teammate Rudy Gobert and a member of the Wolves' coaching staff.

Minnesota lost to Washington 142-127 after an impressive scoring performance by Kristaps Porzingis. He had a career-high 41 points, four rebounds and three blocks. Porzingis shot well, making 66.7% of his shots, including 60.0% from the 3-point range.

Anthony Edwards did all he could during the game, scoring 29 points, eight rebounds and two steals. Edwards made 47.4% of his field goals, but only made 16.7% of his 3-pointers. He wasn't the only one that struggled from deep as D'Angelo Russell only made 14.3% of his long-distance shots.

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The injury of Karl-Anthony Towns could be Anthony Edwards' chance to lead the team

Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Golden State Warriors.

The Timberwolves have a promising duo of Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards. In Edwards' second season, the team was able to make it back to the NBA playoffs and he had a lot to do with it. However, this season, the duo seem to be struggling to lead their team to relevancy in the Western Conference.

With many teams moving pieces during the summer, many were counting on Minnesota to start the season strong. But despite acquiring Gobert, they've had a hard time fulfilling expectations. That could all change with Towns' injury, though.

Edwards is a lethal scorer and this could be his chance to carry the Wolves while being the team's No. 1 option. He said in a past interview that he's struggling to attack the basket because of the lack of spacing caused by their two All-Star bigs. The lane is wide open for him to take charge.

Ant is averaging 22.6 points and 5.9 rebounds this season. We could see an increase in those stats in the following games as KAT's absence will demand that someone steps up.