Karl-Anthony Towns didn’t need a hot night from deep to make Milwaukee work. Even with a 2-for-9 line from three, he still spent the whole game forcing the Bucks to deal with him.
That’s the part the Knicks should keep in mind heading into the Cleveland rematch, not the 32-point margin.
Towns finished Tuesday with 21 points and 16 rebounds in 27 minutes, and he got to the line 14 times. The threes weren’t falling, but he was far from invisible. He still affected the game around the basket, where he could pressure possessions without waiting for the jumper to cooperate.
The contrast with Saturday’s game against Cleveland is useful. In that one, Towns scored 29 points on 21 shots and took only four threes.
Same player, different route to production. The takeaway isn’t that he needs to stop shooting from outside.
It’s that New York doesn’t have to wait on the perimeter shot before it can get value from him.
One way to do that is to get him the ball below the arc before the offense gets bogged down. Early catches at the elbow could create simple reads: if a defender helps, a cutter can slip behind him; if Cleveland stays attached, Towns has room to turn and attack downhill. That gives him a cleaner path to the rim and a shorter passing lane than he’d have after catching at the three-point line.
There’s also the option of keeping Towns high and using the guards through open space. That can drag a big away from the basket, which would matter if Cleveland starts trying to take away the paint. But New York can’t expect 14 free throws every night, especially not on Wednesday.
The real question is whether the Knicks can force Cleveland into a choice: give Towns a lane or give up a cut. They don’t need his first two threes to drop to find out.
In Other News...
Knicks Backcourt Suddenly Has Another Young Guard Worth Watching
A former lottery pick is on the verge of landing in the Knicks orbit, giving Westchester another young guard worth tracking this winter. Rob Dillingham, who was waived by the Hornets in September, is expected to sign with the Westchester Knicks once the waivers process is complete, adding a player with real pedigree to the organizations developmental pipeline.
Dillingham entered the league as the No. 8 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft and has already bounced through stops with the Timberwolves and Bulls in his first two NBA seasons. He has shown flashes along the way, but he still has not carved out a steady home on an NBA roster, which makes this next step a chance to reset his stock while giving the Knicks a closer look at a guard who still has plenty of upside. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks May Need A Real Tyler Kolek Rotation Test Soon
Tyler Kolek has quietly started to carve out a real role for the Knicks in recent games, and the minutes have been more than just late-game housekeeping. He got a run against Milwaukee before the outcome was settled, then followed it up with a 10-minute stint against the Bulls in which he handed out five assists without a turnover, the kind of clean, composed stretch that can catch a coaching staffs attention.
What comes next is the more interesting question for New York. The Knicks may want to see Kolek alongside a starter soon, especially with Cleveland on the schedule, to get a better read on whether he can organize the offense against a higher-level opponent and not just in spot duty. It is still a speculative idea, but it feels like the sort of test that could tell the Knicks a lot about how much trust they can place in him moving forward. [Read more 🡒]
Mike Brown Sounds Off After Knicks Loss Raises Brunson Concern
The Knicks loss to Cleveland came with a familiar kind of frustration, the sort that lingers long after the final buzzer because it leaves you wondering what might have been different. Jalen Brunson still led New York with 27 points in 35 minutes, but the lack of trips to the line stood out in a game the Knicks dropped by eight, especially with the Cavaliers finishing with 14 more free-throw attempts.
Mike Brown did not hide his irritation afterward, pointing to the officiating and the disparity at the stripe as a major issue. For a Knicks team trying to keep pace in a tight stretch, the concern is not just the result itself but whether Brunsons night without a free-throw attempt becomes part of a bigger pattern worth watching. [Read more 🡒]