SACRAMENTO — Mike Brown Wanted Karl-Anthony Towns to Step Up
In the closing moments of the second quarter during the Knicks’ 112-101 defeat to the Kings on Wednesday, Karl-Anthony Towns found himself in a tough spot. Driving towards the basket, he got stripped by Precious Achiuwa and ended up on the floor.
Instead of quickly getting back into the play, Towns remained on the ground, keeping his gaze on the defense. This allowed Achiuwa to easily snag an offensive rebound in the open court.
That moment led to Russell Westbrook from Sacramento making a wide-open three-pointer from the corner, extending the Kings’ lead to 17 points.
Brown reflected, saying, “He drove and fell down. If you go down, you need to get up and hustle back. Even when you hit the floor, there’s urgency needed to chase after longer rebounds. But there was none. It wasn’t an isolated incident; there were a few moments we showed that lack of urgency. In the end, it led to a five-point swing.”
He went on to explain, “If he had sprinted down to grab that long rebound, he’d have a shot at it. At halftime, we saw the replay—he hadn’t even crossed the half-court line. That really summed up our performance.”
The Knicks struggled with their shooting, finishing at a mere 20% from beyond the arc. However, in the locker room, players were mostly in agreement that the defense was the bigger issue.
Josh Hart voiced this sentiment, noting, “Our offensive struggles come second to just how poor our defense was. What was it, giving up 40 free throws? We lacked discipline and didn’t follow our game plan. It was pretty embarrassing. Offense wasn’t even our focus today; we need to resolve our defensive issues.”
The Kings, who are positioned for a lottery pick, had a strong night, with four of their starters scoring at least 18 points.
Coach Brown mentioned that they might consider allowing Mitchell Robinson to play back-to-back games for the first time this season, as he was still managing his surgically repaired ankle and had missed significant time.
The Knicks are scheduled to face the Golden State Warriors on Thursday.
Brown noted, “I’m not sure how the medical team will approach it. His minutes have been increasing, and coaches have noticed him doing more in practice. We’ll take their guidance moving forward.”
