The New York Knicks are sitting near the top of the Eastern Conference standings with a 25-15 record, but you wouldn’t know it from the mood surrounding the team right now. A rough 2-4 start to 2026 has cast a shadow over their early-season success, and Wednesday night’s loss to the Sacramento Kings only added to the frustration.
One play in particular stood out - not because it decided the game, but because it encapsulated the kind of lapses that have been creeping into the Knicks’ performances lately. It came in the first half, when All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns drove to the rim and got stripped. He hit the floor, and while the Knicks managed to get a stop playing 4-on-5, what happened next drew the ire of head coach Mike Brown.
Towns, instead of hustling back, backpedaled toward the play - perhaps thinking he could sneak in for a quick score. But the ball popped loose near midcourt, and with Towns still behind the play, the Kings scooped it up and found Russell Westbrook for a wide-open three.
A five-point swing. And for Brown, it was the kind of moment that summed up the night.
“When you fall down, you’ve got to get up and sprint down the floor,” Brown said postgame. “Even if you’re the last guy, you still have to get down there in case there’s a long rebound.
But there was no urgency. That wasn’t the only play like that - there were a handful.
But that one really stood out. No urgency, and it cost us.”
It’s not that Brown is pinning the loss solely on Towns. He was clear about that - this was just one of several breakdowns.
But in a game where every possession mattered, the lack of effort in that moment was hard to ignore. Especially when it was caught on camera from multiple angles, dissected by fans online, and replayed across social media.
Some of those angles showed Towns slipping on his drive, and others suggested he may have thought he had a chance to score off the scramble - which might explain why he didn’t immediately sprint back. But Brown wasn’t interested in explanations. He was looking for effort.
“If he at least gets down the floor, long rebound, he’s going to get it because he’s trailing the play,” Brown said. “We watched the play at halftime - he didn’t even cross halfcourt. That sums up what our night was.”
It’s the kind of moment that gets amplified when a team is struggling. If the Knicks were rolling, maybe it’s a footnote.
But with the team searching for rhythm and missing key players - including Jalen Brunson, who’s out for Thursday’s game against Golden State - the spotlight naturally turns to Towns. New York brought him in to be a cornerstone, especially in games where their lead guard is unavailable.
And fair or not, that comes with expectations - not just for points and rebounds, but for hustle plays, too.
The Knicks wrap up their West Coast road trip against the Warriors, and it’s a quick turnaround from Wednesday’s loss. Whether it’s Towns, or anyone else in that locker room, the message from Brown is clear: urgency isn’t optional.