As the Eastern Conference Finals shift back to Madison Square Garden, Knicks fans are wondering if Karl-Anthony Towns will be 100 percent after suffering a knee injury during Game 4's loss to the Pacers.
The team listing Towns as questionable for Game 5 won't alleviate any worries. But that's what the Knicks did as their official injury report put the big man as questionable for Thursday with a knee.
With a little more than two minutes remaining in Game 4 and the Knicks down seven points, Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith drove to the basket and Towns came over to defend. Nesmith went up and both players' knees collided, causing the Knicks' big man to writhe in pain on the court. The Knicks medical staff looked after Towns as he stayed down in visible pain.
Towns would eventually get up and play the rest of the game with a visible limp.
Coach Tom Thibodeau and Towns didn't offer much about the knee after the game.
“He was able to go back in, so that’s a good sign," Thibodeau said. "We’ll see where he is after he gets evaluated.”
“I’m only thinking about the loss, I’m not thinking about that right now," Towns said. "It’s disappointing when you don’t get a win. We just didn’t do enough to get the job done tonight.”
With the Knicks down 3-1 and on the brink of elimination, it's unlikely Towns will miss Game 5, but how effective he'll be is still to be determined.
Poor defense and turnovers were the main culprits in the Knicks' Game 4 loss. Towns, whose 20-point fourth quarter led the comeback in Game 3, had 14 points in 14 minutes in the first half — largely due to foul trouble — but just 10 points in 23 minutes in the second half. He played 12 minutes in the final quarter but scored just two points on three shots.
It just wasn't a good game all around for the Knicks, who would be the first ones to tell you. But despite the somber mood after the loss, Towns feels this team has what it takes to come back and win this series, but understands it starts with one game.
"We've been a team that has kind of found a way to do the impossible when it always seemed impossible," Towns said of his team's resilience in the playoffs. "We just keep fighting. It's gonna be a testament to our whole playoff run. Now we have to be in one of the biggest fights of our lives and of our season. And that starts with the next game.
"Taking it game by game. Don’t look ahead. Worry about the first quarter of the next game and we’ll deal with the rest later."
