Karl-Anthony Towns
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Karl-Anthony Towns of the New York Knicks was benched late against the Sacramento Kings.
For the second straight game, Karl-Anthony Towns was benched down the stretch by coach Mike Brown. Towns was subbed out midway through the fourth quarter of the New York Knicks‘ win over the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday.
Towns was taken out of the game at the 6:51 mark in favor of Mitchell Robinson. The Knicks were up by four points, but Brown’s changes made a lot of difference.
The finishing lineup of Jalen Brunson, Miles McBride, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Robinson went on a 21-9 run to end the game, earning a 103-87 victory. The Knicks improved to 28-18 to extend their win streak to three games.
Towns finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds and four assists on 5-for-15 shooting. He had a plus-minus of -3, which was the worst on the team. He was benched along with Josh Hart, who also sat the rest of the game after being subbed out at the same time as KAT.
Towns Reacts to Getting Benched
While his benching on Saturday against the Philadelphia 76ers was due to fouls, Tuesday’s was just coach Mike Brown’s decision. Karl-Anthony Towns was asked after the game about his reaction to getting subbed out and not being put back in.
“He saw what he saw. We got a win, that’s the most important thing. That’s all I care about. That’s all this team cares about, is the win,” Towns said, via Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News.
Towns played just 27 minutes on Tuesday, which was the fewest among all five starters. Nevertheless, it was a great response by KAT, though his status heading into the trade deadline might be worth monitoring.
More and more trade rumors have emerged regarding his future. Marc Stein of The Stein Line reported on Monday that executives around the NBA believe Towns is available for trade. It came after earlier reports by Ian Begley of SNY and Sam Amick of The Athletic that the Knicks are not trading KAT.
Brown Explains Why He Benched Towns
Speaking on his postgame media availability, coach Mike Brown addressed his decision to bench Karl-Anthony Towns midway through the final quarter. Brown explained that he just wanted to go with the flow and play the best five at that point in the game.
“At the end of the game, we had a group out on the floor that was playing well. It was a tight ballgame, so I just rode that group to the end of the game, which I’ve done before. We have Deuce out there, who’s not a starter, Mitch out there, who’s not a starter. We needed to get the win,” Brown said, via Jared Schwartz of The New York Post.
Towns has been having a hard time making the adjustments to Brown’s offensive schemes. He has had an up-and-down campaign, but it’s hard to think that the Knicks are going to be better without him.
One player the Knicks are linked to heading into the trade deadline is Jrue Holiday of the Portland Trail Blazers. Marc Stein reported that the Knicks view him as a perfect complementary backcourt player for Jalen Brunson.