Karl-Anthony Towns was everywhere on the court to inspire the New York Knicks to a 114-104 win over the Brooklyn Nets.
The 7-foot center – who arrived in a blockbuster trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves a couple of weeks before the 2024-25 NBA season tip-off – racked up 26 points on 62.5 percent shooting, 15 rebounds, and six assists in under 30 minutes of play in an all-around performance on Sunday night. And to make his presence felt on the defensive end, he added a steal and a spectacular block from behind on Trendon Watford in the third quarter, helping New York stay in control of the game with the score at 76-66.
Towns has taken no time to become the Knicks’ focal point on offense, averaging 26.4 points while shooting 50 percent for 3 in his first month at Madison Square Garden. His offensive prowess comes as no surprise for head coach Tom Thibodeau, who worked with the Kentucky product early into the big man’s NBA career while in charge of the Minnesota Timberwolves between 2016-2019.
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Asked if he’s learnt anything new about Towns’ game since they reunited in New York, Thibodeau joked during his postgame press conference, “No, because he tells me all about him.” The Knicks head coach then pointed out that the center has been a proven scorer ever since arriving in the NBA – and recalled watching Towns hardly miss any shot in practice during his Minnesota days.
Since then, Towns has only added to his offensive arsenal, Thibodeau noted. “He can play back to the basket. He wasn’t quite as strong as he is now. And obviously, he didn’t have the experience,” the coach said.
“He didn’t go through understanding the league, his opponents, the guys he was going against, the guys that were guarding him. Now he has that. And the thing is, he’s a student of the game. He keeps adding.”
Towns arrived in New York in a blockbuster trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves in October
Thibodeau said that the game slowed down for Towns, making him an even more complete player. “I think his passing has really evolved. He’s always been himself. He’s always been a team-first guy. But now I think he really sees things,” he said.
“He understands what the defense is trying to do. He knows if there’s overhelp. He’s seeing the whole floor now. Initially, like most young guys, the vision was more narrow. It may have been on one guy.
“But now he sees more than one guy. He sees the defense. He sees where everyone is. He sees if there’s overhelp. ‘I can fake here and throw there.’ And that goes a long way.”
The Knicks improved to 6-5 on the season thanks to Sunday’s victory over the Nets, beating their local opponents for the second time in two days. They made the most of Brooklyn’s patchy defense with all of New York starters finishing the night in double digits.
While Jalen Brunson had a fairly quiet night, scoring just 12 points to go along with 10 assists, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart, and ex-Net Mikal Bridges all registered at least 20 points.
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