Karl-Anthony Towns has been key to the Knicks' playoff run but continues to struggle with costly foul trouble, drawing criticism from Charles Barkley.
The New York Knicks wouldn't have made it to the Eastern Conference Finals without star center Karl-Anthony Towns. Still, not everything he's done in the third-round series has worked in their favor.
Player of the Game
Jalen Brunson
34
Jalen Brunson
Points
Accuracy
Rebounds
Assists
Towns has had issues with foul trouble—often picking up poorly timed fouls—which became a talking point after Game 5 on Thursday night.
Following New York's 111–94 win over the Indiana Pacers, which cut the series deficit to 3–2, Hall of Famer Charles Barkley confronted Towns during a postgame interview.
"Why are you getting those dumb fouls?" Barkley asked directly.
"God only knows," Towns replied with a smile.
"When you got your fourth foul, they took you out. Indiana made a run," Barkley continued. "You gotta stop doing that."
"You ain't wrong," Towns admitted. "It hurts my team. I got to do a much better job."
Towns has been productive offensively through five games in the Knicks-Pacers series, scoring 35, 20, 24, 24, and 24 points. But defensively, foul trouble has been a consistent issue—he's committed four, three, five, four, and five fouls in those games.
Like what we are doing? You can express your gratitude here.