Kat Heats Up With 44 Against Miami

Photo: Special to the NY Beacon

By Andrew Rosario

It was not the start Karl Anthony Towns and the New York Knicks envisioned when they opened the 2024-2025 season last Tuesday in Boston. The Knicks had to watch the Celtics raise their 18th NBA Championship banner in front of a sold-out crowd. Boston then went and tied a record with the Milwaukee Bucks connecting on 29 3-pointers as they routed New York 132-109. Towns had a pedestrian 12 points. Said Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau “It’s not one guy. Obviously, we have to be better. So, we’ll look at the film and the adjustments we have to make.”

The Knicks made adjustments when they hosted the Indiana Pacers in their home opener last Friday night. The same Pacers team that eliminated New York in last year’s Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. Towns scored 21 points in the 123-98 win. Captain Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 26 points. Josh Hart finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds said, “we kind of knew this would be a good game for us. When you get your butt kicked on national TV, the next game, you step it up,”

The Knicks took a step back when they faced the Cleveland Cavaliers blowing a second half lead in the 110-104 loss. Although New York had 6 players in double figures, led by Brunson’s 21 points, they could not hold off the Cavs who were led by Darius Garland and his 36 points. Brunson had to leave the game at one point going to the locker room after landing awkward in the third quarter. He returned to start the fourth. The same could not be said for Hart as he had to leave the game late in the fourth quarter when he banged his right leg with Caris LeVert. Said Brunson seeing Hart leave the game, “of course, anybody that doesn’t finish the game it’s hard to see and you want your brothers out there finishing the game with you.”

Hart did return when the Knicks traveled south to face the Miami Heat. Hart finished with 10 points and 14 rebounds but the night was all about Karl Anthony Towns. He finished the night with 44 points and 13 rebounds in the 116-107 win. New York had to overcome a 13-point deficit as Kat scored 14 points and grabbed 5 rebounds in the fourth quarter. Said Towns after his performance, “I just wanted to win. I wasn’t even thinking honestly, I just didn’t realize the time, either. I was just trying to make the winning play so you get to those last minutes, you kind of get lost in the game.”

Two nights later the road trip continued when New York traveled to Detroit to visit the Pistons. In the 128-98 win, Brunson exploded for 36 points as once again 6 players scored in double figures with Towns and OG Anunoby chipping in 21. Said Brunson of the shared scoring, “we were just trying to make the right play at the right time while still trying to stay aggressive. Any given night, we have a bunch of guys who can have big nights on the stat sheet.”

The 2-game road win streak came to an end Monday night when the Knicks took on the Houston Rockets. It was a case of New York not making shots when they need to and could not get a stop when they needed to either in the 109-97 loss. The Knicks would get within 3-points late in the game only to allow Rocket baskets as Houston ended the game on a 11-2 run putting the game away. Brunson finished with 29 points but had to play 42 minutes. Rockets center Alperen Sengun led Houston with 25 points. Said Brunson of the loss, “we missed shots. We didn’t get stops. We weren’t together on the defensive side. So, let one slip away.”

The Knicks hosted Milwaukee Friday night and will host the Pacers Sunday night.

There were positives and negatives in the first 6-games of the New York Knicks season. Towns showed he can be a force on both ends of the court. Brunson can light it up on any night. Defense is something that Thibodeau stresses every night. They need to be more consistent in that area.