Knicks’ Karl-Anthony Towns goes ghost in second half against Cavaliers

The New York Knicks couldn’t complete the season sweep against the Cleveland Cavaliers, falling to them by a score of 94-109 on Tuesday. The offense was janky, as they committed 16 turnovers and couldn’t find a rhythm from three.

Knicks offense goes cold as Karl-Anthony Towns disappears in second half

Things completely fell apart in the third quarter, when they scored just 11 points and shot 3-for-24 from the field. Perhaps more alarmingly, Karl-Anthony Towns, who had two very good games prior to Tuesday, disappeared in the second half.

Towns took four shots in the first half and scored 11 points, making all of those shots. In the second half, he was basically a non-factor, taking only two-point shot, which he made.

Towns having disappearing acts against good teams has been a glaring issue of late. Against the Detroit Pistons last week, who had only two points and took three shots in the first half. He picked things up in the second half to finish with 21 points, but it was too late as they were blown out by the Pistons at home.

Against Cleveland, his lack of involvement is what ultimately caused the game to fall apart. New York was within striking distance all throughout the first half before the deficit became 20 in the fourth quarter.

The Knicks need Towns to be aggressive scoring

Towns can’t have games where he isn’t involved, and there’s multiple people at fault for it. For one, Towns needs to be more aggressive when he has the ball in his hands, and looking to create his own shot, but the others around him are at fault too.

Head coach Mike Brown needs to include him in more plays, especially in pick-and-roll. Jalen Brunson was getting blitzed by the Cavaliers’ stifling defense, but there wasn’t as much two-man action between their two All-Stars.

The shot distribution was not on par either. Mikal Bridges, who has struggled to get into an offensive rhythm for basically all season, took 17 shots, only two short of team-leader Brunson. Bridges scored only 18 points and made six of those 17 shots.

For the Knicks to be successful, they need Towns to be aggressive and force the issue to his opponents. When he goes ghost, it is hard for New York to generate a good offense, which has already cost them some games this season, and they can’t afford to have it hurt them in the playoffs.