Karl-Anthony Towns experienced a painful moment during the second quarter on Saturday, visibly shaken as he clutched his left hand after making contact while driving toward the basket.
Despite the discomfort, the All-Star Center stayed in the game and played for 36 minutes. However, he struggled, finishing with 18 points on 5-of-18 shooting in a 115-93 loss to the Celtics in Game 3 of the second round.
Interestingly, it seemed that Towns hinted at having “broken” something during that play, as social media commentators noted his apparent remarks later in the game.
“What is that? I just want to do whatever I can to be there,” he said. “What is that? I’m not backing down; I’m going to keep finding ways to play.”
In the end, he scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in Game 3, relying heavily on free throws, where he hit 10 of 11 attempts.
However, he also had a rough outing from beyond the arc, missing several attempts and now stands at 7-for-1 in the series, a stark contrast to his successful shooting percentages of 42% and 48% in the first round against the Pistons.
Towns, who previously missed a game in January due to a right-hand issue, was involved in a tangle with Al Horford and Jrue Holiday shortly after the injury. Cameras even caught the moment he expressed concern about potentially breaking something during a struggle for a rebound.
“It’s the playoffs. People get hit, and you have to push through things,” noted Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau. “You learn to play when you’re less than your best, and that mental toughness is crucial.”
Towns didn’t specify whether he had received X-rays or other evaluations on his wrist or hand, maintaining a level of ambiguity about his condition.
The five-time All-Star currently averages 19.7 points per game in the playoffs, which is nearly five points below his regular-season scoring average of 24.4 in his first year with the Knicks following a trade from the Timberwolves.
