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Much was made about Karl-Anthony Towns' lack of involvement thus far in the New York Knicks' offense. Entering the Knicks' Wednesday night contest against the Miami Heat, Towns had the fewest shot attempts per game among the team's starters, which is simply inexcusable given how New York brought him in specifically to make the most of his three-level scoring threat. But on Wednesday, Towns showed why the Knicks needed to give him more touches, as he dominated the Heat en route to a 116-107 win.
Towns was simply unstoppable despite coming up against one of the best defensive centers in the NBA in Bam Adebayo. In 39 minutes of play, Towns put up 44 points and 13 rebounds, and he shot an incredibly efficient 17-25 from the field — leading the team in shot attempts in the process.
Given how talented Towns is, it was only a matter of time before he grew comfortable in his new Knicks digs. And with Towns integrating himself more and more seamlessly into the team fabric with each passing day, Josh Hart could not be happier to see KAT do well.
“MEOWWWWW!!!!” Hart wrote as a caption on his Instagram story containing a picture of Towns' stat line on the night.
Josh Hart on IG: pic.twitter.com/WkPLg9iq1W
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) October 31, 2024
Indeed, the entire Knicks fanbase will be meowing without self-consciousness if Towns continues to play the way he did against the Heat. Sure, he's not going to make 68 percent of his shots every night, as he loves drifting out to the perimeter (and rightfully so, since he's one of the greatest shooting big men in NBA history). But his aggressiveness in the paint and on the glass was the most exciting part of his performance on Wednesday night.
On multiple occasions, Towns was fighting to keep possessions alive for the Knicks, and he was fearless in going up against a swarming Heat defense in the paint. Moreover, he got the upper hand over his former teammate Jimmy Butler on multiple plays, which must have felt sweet for Towns.
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Moving forward, the Knicks should rely on Towns more to get them across the finish line, as he proved that he can do a solid enough job in leading the team, provided that he gets the touches.
Knicks storm back with strong second half in win vs. Heat
In the first half of their win over the Heat, the Knicks seemed to play with a bit of lethargy, especially on defense. They gave the Heat plenty of open looks, with Tyler Herro making them pay on multiple occasions. But in the third quarter, the Knicks gained momentum and did not look back, with the team raining fire from deep.
This set the stage for Towns to dominate proceedings in the fourth quarter. He scored 14 of his 44 points on the night in the final frame, making six of his seven shots in the quarter while playing solid defense against Bam Adebayo. Moreover, he was relentless on the glass, helping keep the Heat at bay.
The Knicks will look to keep it rolling on Friday when they take on the Detroit Pistons on the road at 7:00 PM E.T.
