New York Knicks coach Mike Brown called out Karl-Anthony Towns for a lack of urgency after a defensive lapse allowed the Kings an easy 3-pointer in Wednesday’s 112-101 loss. Brown said Towns should have sprinted back after falling in the paint, calling it a key five-point swing.
New York Knicks coach Mike Brown didn’t hold back after Wednesday’s 112-101 loss to the Sacramento Kings, calling out Karl-Anthony Towns for a lack of urgency on a key defensive play.
With less than two minutes remaining in the second quarter, Towns drove into the paint but was stripped by Precious Achiuwa and fell to the floor. Instead of getting back on defense, Towns stayed down, allowing Achiuwa to grab an uncontested rebound near midcourt. The sequence ended with Russell Westbrook draining a wide-open corner 3-pointer, extending Sacramento’s lead to 17 points.
“He drove. Something happened where he fell down. He drove, he fell down,” Brown said in a post-game press conference. “When you fall down, you got to get up and got to sprint down the floor. And even when you’re the last guy down the floor, you got to get down there just in case there’s a long rebound. But there was no urgency. That wasn’t the only play.
“There were a handful of plays that we did that. But there was no sense of urgency on that particular play to get back. And it was a five-point swing. If he at least gets down the floor, long rebound, he’s going to get it because he’s trailing the play. We watched the play at halftime, and he didn’t even cross halfcourt. That sums up what our night was,” he added.
Offensively, the Knicks struggled as well, shooting just 20% from three-point range. The Kings, a lottery-bound team sitting at 11-30, had four starters reach at least 18 points in the win, taking advantage of the Knicks’ defensive lapses.
After the disappointing loss to the Kings, the Knicks currently sit in 2nd place in the Eastern Conference with a 25-15 record.
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