The New York Knicks received a frightening sight during a clash against the Los Angeles Clippers when star center Karl-Anthony Towns began visibly favoring his right knee.
As per Steve Popper of Newsday Sports: "After coming up short on a pair of drives, KAT was limping and grabbing at his right knee. Now he just finished a drive and immediately went to the knee again and slowly hobbled off for a timeout."
Despite the alarming scene, Towns was back on the court after a break. However, the concern did not disappear. At halftime, Towns was still visibly limping, raising serious questions about whether he can continue to play at full capacity in the second half.
Through the first half, Towns had been dominant before the injury cloud emerged, putting up 21 points on a wonderful 8-of-10 shooting, including 2-of-2 from three, along with four rebounds in just 18 minutes. The Knicks trail the Clippers 55-64 at the half.
KAT (21 first half) limps to locker room halftime with Knicks down 9 pic.twitter.com/M1Rguh8nqa
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) March 10, 2026
Towns Back in Action, Knicks Remain Cautious
New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns
Mar 9, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) controls the ball against Los Angeles Clippers guard Darius Garland (10) and guard Jordan Miller (22) during the first half at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
Karl-Anthony Towns stepping back on the court after he went to the locker room must have been a great relief to the Knicks fans, but still, he was seen doing stretching exercises on the sideline before coming back - indicating to anyone that the team's medical staff was probably making sure he was good to go before they took any risk with the injury.
Nonetheless, even if KAT were healthy, the Knicks are facing issues that go far beyond that. They are currently behind the Los Angeles Clippers and the Knicks' defensive failures have been visible the whole time. They have had difficulty limiting the opponents' drives to the basket and their defensive shifting has been slow and scattered - a trend that they must change if they want to reduce the deficit in the second half.
What makes things worse is Landry Shamet's contribution, who, for most of the game, stayed out of the offensive limelight. The experienced guard, who scored 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting in the last loss against the Lakers, couldn't deliver the booster off the bench that the Knicks so badly need when their starting players are having a hard time.
Despite the health scare, Towns and Brunson are currently shouldering the offensive load as the Knicks fight to come back.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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