Knicks’ Karl-Anthony Towns is looking like his All-Star self for the first time this season

This season has not been an easy one for New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns. His second season with the team has been marred by on court struggles and trade rumors, but at the most important time in the season, the Big Bodega might be back.

Knicks’ Karl-Anthony Towns dominates the Bulls

Against the Chicago Bulls on Sunday, he put in perhaps his most aggressive offensive display in quite some time. He scored 28 points on 10-for-17 shooting from the field and 5-for-9 from three to go along with 11 rebounds.

He scored 11 of his points in the fourth quarter, including a go-ahead three-pointer followed by a layup on the ensuing possession to give the Knicks a four-point lead. Despite playing on the back end of a back-to-back, they were able to hold on and win 105-99 thanks to Towns’ heroics.

Towns also performed well defensively, earning his first Defensive Player of the Game honors of the season by head coach Mike Brown.

His performance against Chicago followed a big game the night before against the Houston Rockets. In that game, he put in an efficient 25-point outing and was a perfect 3-for-3 from three, playing a key role in the Knicks’ 18-point fourth quarter comeback to seal the victory.

Towns is playing more aggressive lately

His aggression on the scoring front was the most noteworthy thing about his performance. His nine threes attempted was his most in a game since Nov. 14 against the Miami Heat, when he attempted 14 threes in a 39-point explosion, a game that was played without Jalen Brunson.

Throughout this season, Towns has been passive at times, and not demanding the ball in the spots he feasts in the most. He also has not been able to get into rhythm from three for a large portion of the season, and is shooting a career-low in that department.

However, he has started to look more like the player that was named to All-NBA third team last season over these last two games. If he continues to play at this high of a level, it will make the Knicks look much more dangerous than they have looked this season.

The Knicks are in a dogfight in the Eastern Conference standings, and they will need to continue stacking wins to create some separation. Towns being on his A-game is the start of that.