Karl-Anthony Towns revealed he was just following coach Chris Finch's orders when he went out and hit 60 points in the Minnesota Timberwolves' win over the San Antonio Spurs.

While MVP rivals Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid collided in Philadelphia, Towns stole the spotlight with a stunning display, hitting a season-high points total in the Timberwolves' 149-139 triumph on Monday.

Towns' tally took him ahead of the efforts of Trae Young and LeBron James, who both scored 56 this season, while it was also a franchise record.

And the 26-year-old said he had asked Finch pre-game what was required of him, with the coach telling him to "go get 60".

He continued: "I told coach before the game, 'Hey listen, we need this win. I'll do whatever it takes. If I need to play 44, 48 minutes, I'll get it done.'

"That was kind of the mindset I came in [with]. I had to dominate. I had to be my best.

"So I just went out there, tried to be really aggressive."

Finch was understandably delighted with Towns' showing, with Gregg Popovich's Spurs unable to stop him.

"They were selling out to protect the rim with everything else we were trying to do," Finch said.

"He had the matchup, and they didn't have an answer for him. We definitely needed it, and he stepped up."

Popovich, who recently racked up a record 1,336th victory as a coach, also heaped praise on Towns.

"Karl was fantastic," Popovich said. "He drove it, he shot it. He always plays hard. He's a hell of a player. It's not like it was a surprise, but tonight he was special."

After reaching half-time with 24 points, Towns exploded into life after the break, scoring 32 of his side's 46 third-quarter points on his way to final shooting figures of 19-31 from the field, 7-11 from three and 15-16 from the line.

Towns, who is the first center to hit 60 points in a single NBA game since Shaquille O'Neal in March 2000, also grabbed a personal season-high of 17 rebounds.

He became the first player in the league's history to have 60 points, 60 per cent 3-point shooting and 15 rebounds in a single game, while only four centers had previously enjoyed a 60-point game.