NEW YORK – Karl-Anthony Towns and the New York Knicks are in a strange position: The more they win in the National Basketball Association (NBA), the more they will be connected to trade rumours involving the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Knicks will look to remain hot on Jan 30 (Jan 31 morning, Singapore time) when they host the Portland Trail Blazers in the final game of the season between the non-conference foes.
The Knicks were off on Jan 29 after riding a dominant second half to a 119-92 win on Jan 28 night over the Toronto Raptors. The Trail Blazers took their third straight defeat on Jan 27 when they continued a three-game road trip with a 115-111 loss to the Washington Wizards.
New York, on a four-game winning streak, are positioned to end January in a much steadier position than seemed possible last week. They lost nine of 11 from Dec 31 through Jan 19, a stretch in which the team endured two four-game losing streaks.
But the Knicks’ last four wins have been by an average of 25 points. While that figure is inflated by a 120-66 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Jan 21 – the most lopsided win in team history – New York have displayed an impressive finishing touch during their last three victories.
They are currently in a tie for second in the Eastern Conference with the Boston Celtics, six games back of the Detroit Pistons.
The Knicks beat the Raptors hours after ESPN reported the Bucks and two-time NBA MVP Antetokounmpo are likely headed for a divorce, either at the February trade deadline or over the summer.
Any deal for Antetokounmpo would likely include Towns, who leads the NBA with 11.6 rebounds per game but is shooting a career-low 46.2 per cent from the field while also struggling on defence.
“We only worry about one thing – that’s winning – so I’ve got no reason to go into depth on anything else,” Towns insisted. “At the end of the day, the conversations revolve around one thing and one thing only every single day, 24 hours a day: winning.”
A three-game losing streak has lessened the margin of error for the Trail Blazers as they try to climb out of the play-in spots in the Western Conference.
They are tied with the Los Angeles Clippers for the final two play-in spots.
The Trail Blazers, who commit an NBA-high 16.1 turnovers per game and are tied for 21st in free-throw shooting (77.3 per cent), committed 20 turnovers while shooting a season-worst 56.5 per cent (13 of 23) from the line on Jan 27 against the Wizards.
Portland know exactly what they must improve on ahead of their clash against the Knicks – they are 5-8 this season when committing at least 20 turnovers.
“I think a big part of the loss is our 20 turnovers,” acting Trail Blazers head coach Tiago Splitter said.
Meanwhile in NBA action on Jan 29, Kyshawn George led all scorers with 23 points to help the Washington Wizards claim a 109-99 home victory over the Bucks. Antetokounmpo missed the game with a reported right calf strain.
Anthony Edwards scored 26 points as the hosts Minnesota Timberwolves jumped on the Oklahoma City Thunder early and rolled to a 123-111 win.
The loss was the third in the last four games for the Western Conference-leading Thunder.
At the top of the East, Detroit also suffered a defeat.
Dillon Brooks scored a career-high 40 points and made four three-pointers while Grayson Allen had 24 points, as the Phoenix Suns stopped the Pistons 114-96 at home.
Elsewhere, Cooper Flagg scored 49 points – the most ever by a teenager in a single NBA game – but it was not enough to save the Dallas Mavericks from a 123-121 loss to the Charlotte Hornets. REUTERS, AFP