Barely 48 hours ago, the Knicks were demolished by the Eastern Conference-leading Pistons, extending their season-long losing streak to four games.
While most Knicks players simply didn’t show up to play in Detroit, the spotlight was on Cities Karl-Anthony.
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The Knicks big man scored just six points on 1-of-4 shooting with one rebound and one assist. He turned the ball over six times and was minus-27 on the floor in Monday’s loss. It was a terrible sight and he looked lost. So much so that he told the NY Post subsequently, the reason for his poor performance was his adaptation to the head coach Mike Brownthe new system.
Well, what a difference two days makes.
The Knicks ended their losing streak with an impressive 123-111 victory against the red-hot Clippers Wednesday night, and Towns played a big role in the victory.
With the game still close in the fourth quarter, Towns took over offensively, scoring 10 of his 20 points in the final quarter. He also pulled down four rebounds to help the Knicks pull away from Los Angeles.
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“We needed it” Jalen Brunson said of Towns’ performance after the game. “It helped us increase our lead and it was a big play on his part. We all have to support each other. The way he played tonight, that’s what we needed.”
Towns’ post-Detroit comments about his performance sparked questions about what was different for him and why he found success against the Clippers.
The big man said he’s just trying to impact the game in a winning way, and that’s what his goal is.
“I said it last year, I say it this year, every time I touch the ball, I try to be aggressive, whether it’s to make a play for myself or for my teammates,” Towns said. “I want to impact winning every day.”
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For Towns in the fourth quarter, he pointed to his increased aggressiveness as the catalyst for his performance.
“I made a few shots, but I didn’t make a lot, but I think tonight shows that aggression wins,” Towns said. “Not giving up because some shots aren’t going in, staying very aggressive every opportunity I get. In the end, it worked out for our team. Those plays, misses or hits, I’m happy they impacted the win and put us in a better position.”
“He’s an explosive scorer. Starting with me, I have to continue to find ways to help him, like I have to help the rest of the team,” Brown said of Towns. “What I like tonight is that he’s an All-Star player, high level and this type of player has an impact on the game.
“He can score with the best, so we know he’ll eventually get going in that area, but what I like is he had an impact defensively – 11 rebounds, seven assists, the nine points definitely helped and he helped us create that separation by doing that. But I don’t want to downplay the fact that he did what All-Stars do, what great players do. He found other ways throughout the game to continue to help our team to win It’s fantastic to see because he’s more than capable with as much quality as he is.”
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On Wednesday, Towns is averaging 21.5 points on 47 percent shooting and 11.5 rebounds. All three categories are down from last season when he was voted third team All-NBA and in his fifth All-Star Game. However, the second-year Knick is more worried about winning and taking New York to the NBA Finals for the first time in nearly three decades.
And while there’s still plenty of season left, Towns and the Knicks hope Wednesday’s win will give them more as they head West for a four-game road trip.
“We weren’t at our best today, but we did enough to win,” he said. “At times in the game we did a good job getting a point and we didn’t let them stop the bleeding. We got better than tonight. I need to be better. It’s a good start before we go on the journey to stop the bleeding of four straight losses…now we have to build on that.”
“Teams understand now that we’re coming in with a little momentum, and they’re going to try to stop that. We’ve got to do a better job of outplaying them and pushing them around. It’s up to us.”
The Knicks travel to Phoenix to begin their West Coast trip against the Suns on Friday.
