Getty
New Karl-Anthony Town stats reflect a major problem for the New York Knicks
Karl-Anthony Towns has been the most versatile big man in the Knicks NBA Finals. He has found ways to score, grab rebounds, defend Wembanyama, and deliver the perfect pass at the perfect moment. The Knicks traveled to San Antonio and secured two consecutive victories, with KAT playing a major role in both.
The Spurs just took Game 3 at Madison Square Garden and climbed back into this series. Amidst all of that, a surprising number about Towns has come up that nobody really expected.
Karl-Anthony Towns Has Zero 4th Quarter Points in the NBA Finals
GettyAlarming Karl-Anthony Towns Trend Emerges for Knicks After Game 3
ClutchPoints put the number out there. According to them, Towns has yet to score a single point in the fourth quarter of the NBA Finals against the Spurs. Across the first three quarters of both games, he had racked up 50 points. The moment the fourth started, nothing.
He put up 18 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 assists in New York’s Game 1 win, then followed it with 21 points and 13 rebounds in a one-point Game 2 thriller. All of that production, every single basket, came before the fourth quarter even began.
To make it weirder, Mitchell Robinson, Landry Shamet, and Miles McBride all had more fourth-quarter points than Towns across those two games. That is a strange sentence to write about someone sitting atop the Finals MVP ladder, but here we are.
Does KAT’s Absence in the 4th Quarter Actually Hurt the Knicks?
GettyCostly Karl-Anthony Towns Trend Leaves Knicks With Major Concern After Game 3
Well, not quite, and it is because of Jalen Brunson. The Knicks grabbed a 2-0 lead on the road in San Antonio, made it only the third time in NBA Finals history for the team to start with two consecutive wins away from home, and Brunson delivered in the clutch moments both times. Brunson even described Towns as amazing offensively and defensively, and the defensive part is really evident. Towns made sure that Wembanyama was limited throughout both games.
Game 3 was different. Wembanyama simply blew up with a stunning 32 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 blocks, and Stephon Castle with 23 points helped the Spurs to a 115-111 win over the Knicks at Madison Square Garden making it a 2-1 series.
Game 4 is back at the Garden. The Knicks still have the lead, but the Spurs have momentum now and Wembanyama clearly figured something out in Game 3.
If Towns starts showing up in the fourth quarter the way he dominates the first three, New York has a closer that San Antonio simply has no answer for. That would change everything about how this series ends.
Jayesh Pagar Jayesh Pagar is a writer at Heavy Sports, covering the New York Knicks and other NBA teams. He brings four years of experience across digital sports media, including NBA, WNBA, college basketball, and college football. He covered as the Knicks beat writer for ONSI and has written for PFSN, Sporting News, and ClutchPoints. More about Jayesh Pagar
