Charles Barkley questions Karl-Anthony Towns over foul trouble

Following the New York Knicks win against the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night, Charles Barkley questioned Karl-Anthony Towns over his foul trouble in the playoffs so far this season.

Knicks fight back in Game 5

The Knicks fought back against the Pacers at Maddison Square Garden in game 5 and a comfortable win means the series is headed back to Indiana for game 6, with New York still 3-2 down.

Jalen Brunson again shone in the win with 32 points and although Karl-Anthony Towns was able to add 24 points and 13 rebounds of his own, the Knicks big man will be disappointed with his performance.

The start of the game went smoothly for Towns, who had 17 points by the half in an impressive first two quarters. Not for the first time this season though Towns found himself in foul trouble and his second half was much more underwhelming.

In the third Towns shot just two field goals, scoring two points. With three personal fouls in just six minutes the 29-year-old trudged off the floor with a frustrated look on his face yet again.

Despite his foul trouble, KAT played 11 minutes in the final period but his shooting failed him with just two from seven shots dropping down. Towns ended the game with five fouls to go along with his 24-point haul.

Karl-Anthony Towns struggling with fouls

Speaking to the TNT crew after the game, Towns was immediately questioned by the straight talking Charles Barkley about his struggle with fouling.

“Why are you getting those dumb fouls?” Barkley asked directly.

Although some players might have been frustrated with the question, Towns replied with a smile on his face saying: “God only knows.”

“When you got your fourth foul, they took you out. Indiana made a run,” Barkley continued. “You gotta stop doing that.”

Chuck: “Why do you be getting them dumb fouls?” 😅😂

KAT: “God only knows.” pic.twitter.com/PMF2zq3SJK

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 30, 2025

“You ain’t wrong,” Towns admitted live on air. “It hurts my team. I got to do a much better job.”

Game 5 wasn’t the first time in this series that Towns has limited his own minutes on the floor due to fouls.

Although he has scored well throughout the series with an average of 25.4 points per game, Towns has also recorded 5-4-5-3-4 personal fouls through the five games.

If New York is going to complete an improbable comeback from 3-1 down they will need KAT at his very best in the final two games but most importantly, they will need him to stay on the floor for as long as possible.