Karl-Anthony Towns choked up when he was asked about the New York Knicks’ 105-95 Game 1 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night, as he thanked his late mother for giving him a ‘calming’ presence while on the court.
The New York Knicks center contributed 18 points, 12 rebounds, and four assists on 7-for-15 shooting from the field in 34 minutes, which is not too shabby for a first career NBA Finals game.
“To be honest with y’all, and I don’t want to sound sugarcoating in any way… I don’t know what it was, but I just felt a calming (presence) and a peace that had to be coming from the women above,” Towns said via ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel. “You know, I felt like a kid. It was just fun out here. As a kid, things sometimes you always dream about… All day, it was just a weird feeling.”
“In a way, I felt like I was seeing her in the stands. It was fun. It was really comforting… I don’t know. It felt like a certain presence that was here that was very comforting and very loving. I felt like I could have fun out here in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, which is the weirdest thing,” he added.
New York Knicks News: Karl-Anthony Towns’ Game 1 performance draws plaudits from Mike Brown
The New York Knicks won’t win Game 1 without Karl-Anthony Towns. Besides producing another double-double, the six-time All-Star deserves credit for holding his ground against San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama.
“He’s a problem. You put a small guy on him, he’s got a chance to offensive rebound. You put a big guy on him, he’s got a chance to pick-and-pop and go around guys,” head coach Mike Brown said.
“We have to just keep trying to move him around based on who is guarding him throughout the course of the ballgame, but he was huge for us with his double-double,” he added.
