New York Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns is dealing with an injury ahead of the team’s most important game of the season, but it won’t keep him off the court.
Towns banged his knee twice during the team’s 130-121 loss in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals, and looked to be in a fair amount of pain late in the contest. However, after being listed as questionable with a knee contusion, the Knicks said shortly before the game that he was good to go.
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The injury occurred with time winding down in the fourth quarter Tuesday, when Towns banged knees with Indiana Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith. Towns immediately grabbed his knee, and remained down on the court in obvious pain.
Despite the injury, Towns was able to re-enter and finish the game, but he was hobbled the rest of the way.
Towns didn’t want to talk about the injury after the contest, saying, “I’m only thinking about this loss, I’m not thinking about that right now.” Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau tried to take a more optimistic track, saying it was “a good thing” that Towns was able to get back into the game.
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Losing Towns would have been devastating for the Knicks, who trail the series 3-1 following Tuesday’s loss. Towns is averaging 25.8 points and 11.5 rebounds during the series and put up a standout performance in the team’s Game 3 win.
Towns was nearly as good in Game 4, dropping 24 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in the loss.
Even though Towns has been cleared for Game 5, his presence might not matter if Tyrese Haliburton continues to post huge numbers. Haliburton torched the Knicks in Game 4, dropping a historic triple-double on New York in the win.
Haliburton is one of the few players who has been able to match Towns statistically during the series. In four games, Haliburton is averaging 24.3 points and 11 rebounds, plus one of the wildest shots the NBA playoffs has ever seen.
