When asked about his thumb injury while shooting, Karl-Anthony Towns shyly repeated four times, “That's what it is,” with his hands in his pockets in the locker room after the game.
“It's that simple,” the center said.
Still, Towns was clearly bothered for much of Monday's loss to the Pistons after slamming his hand into the backboard during a drive in the first half.
His next few shots missed wide, but Towns still finished with 26 points and 12 rebounds.
At one point late in the third quarter, Towns was hit on a drive and ran into the crowd, clutching his hand in pain.
He declined to say whether there were any X-rays, and coach Tom Thibodeau gave his usual update, saying, “I haven't talked to the doctors yet.”
“They took shots when they needed to,” Towns said of the Pistons. “We could sit here and talk about all the things we could have done. We just didn't do it. It's going to cost us in the end.”
Towns has missed three games this season, including one last week, due to knee pain.
This is the second time this season that Thibodeau has accused the Knicks of failing to play defense after getting into an altercation with an umpire.
“You can't complain if you feel like you missed a call. If you trot back and talk to an agent, you could get 3 points. [on the other end]'' Thibodeau said, “The season is long. No one's perfect. It's tough, Mr. Civil Servant. It's very tough. There are emotions and frustrations in the game, but you also understand the pace at which the game is played. You can't afford to complain. Dead balls to the officials can make points. They usually do this pretty well, but when they do it when the ball is live, the other side is now at a disadvantage, going 5-on-4 and getting an open 3 or layup. And in the end, it might be a one-possession game. If you have two or three of those in the game, that's the difference between winning and losing.”
