Karl-Anthony Towns returned from an injury and suffered another injury.
On Monday, with the next game against the Wizards looming, Towns gave a positive but vague answer about his availability.
“That's always the plan: to play,” Towns said.
Towns, who finished with 26 points and 15 boards, took a hard spill late in the third quarter, slipped and fell, landing almost horizontally on his hip.
He was in obvious pain and missed the final 7 minutes, 20 seconds, but coach Tom Thibodeau said it was a strategic move to shore up the defense against a small Nets lineup. said.
“It was the way the game was going,” Thibodeau said. “We had a lead. They were small. We wanted to switch more. So we were reading how things were going to go.”
Towns missed the previous game with a knee contusion and promptly received a flagrant foul on Sunday for backhanded Nets forward Cam Johnson in the groin area.
The foul came after Towns lost the ball under the basket and Towns raised his arm under Johnson's legs, but it was unclear whether the contact was intentional.
He then dominated offensively, making 10 of 16 shots and dishing out six assists before sitting out the final half of the game.
“I’m going to do everything I can to play,” Towns said. “That didn't work for me [on Friday, his birthday]It's a shame because I wanted to play in front of my family. But God is good on Sunday. ”
Following Ariel Hukporti's breakthrough, Thibodeau installed Jericho Sims as the backup center and his solid defense paid off.
“If you look at Jericho, his limited field goal percentage is No. 1 among centers. So I know what he offers there. And his ability to screen and put pressure on the rim, that's It's a different kind of pressure. KAT can play away from the basket, but Jericho attacks hard to the rim. And what that allows us to do is make more transitions. I have it, so that part is good.”
Sims, who, as Thibodeau alluded to, has little words or emotion, entered Sunday with the Knicks' highest defensive rating.
However, in Friday's win over the Nets, Sims played just 18 minutes as Hukporti had four blocks in 30 minutes. With Towns back on Sunday, Hukporti was DNP as Sims surged on an alley-oop to grab just two points, four rebounds, blocked one shot and maintained his grip on reserve center time.
