The New York Knicks needed a big game from their All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns, and he gave them exactly that in their 116-107 win over the Miami Heat on Wednesday night.
Towns put the Knicks on his back with a monster 44 points on an efficient 17-25 shooting from the field and 4-5 shooting from three-point range along with 13 rebounds on the affair. Prior to the game, the Kentucky product was hoisting a mere 9.3 shot attempts per game, but made it his business to assert himself on the road in Miami and will New York to a 2-2 record on the young campaign.
Knicks: Karl-Anthony Towns credits “amazing game plan” for season-high outing
After the game, Towns credited Knicks All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson and head coach Tom Thibodeau for positioning him to dominate on the floor. He also expounded on his individual play as well as the progress of the team as a unit, saying this to the media in the locker room, per Five Reasons Sports Network:
“I just wanted to do whatever I can to help us win. My teammates like I said, on the court, put the trust in me with the basketball, and the coaching staff. Amazing game plan. I just wanted to repay their trust,” Towns said.
Regarding the way the team executed on offense, the four-time All-Star said:
“I think we just, as a team, just played great together and just taking the shots that were given to us. You know, not second guessing a lot of shots, taking what was given to us. So it’s a testament to these guys in this locker room. Bounce back game from last one, tough loss, staying mentally ready for this game.”
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Knicks: Towns & his teammates remedied early season offensive woes vs. Heat
Following the Knicks’ 110-104 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday, Towns stated that the team needed to look for more ways to connect from distance and evaluate film. It was clear that the Knicks came out with a different approach against the Heat, as they not only had six players score in double figures, but all of them connected on multiple triples and five did so on 40 percent shooting or better from three-point range.
New York executed soundly as needed. Towns took the baton from Brunson and Mikal Bridges, the latter two of whom led the Knicks back from a 13-point deficit in the third quarter, and closed the show in the fourth quarter with an imposing 14 points on 6-7 shooting from the field. He and his Knicks teammates will look to keep things up in their next contest against the Detroit Pistons on Friday.
