The Myles Turner vs Karl-Anthony Towns matchup is one of the main clashes to watch as the Indiana Pacers take on the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals. The battle between Tyrese Haliburton and Jalen Brunson will take center stage, but the big men might have the biggest say on which team advances to the NBA Finals.
Myles Turner, who is in his tenth season with Indiana, is the longest-tenured member of the team and has come to define what it means to be a Pacer as he has transformed from a young talent to one of the team’s veteran leaders. His shooting ability, combined with his elite rim protection provides a fallback option for his team’s stars as they find themselves in back-to-back conference finals.
On the other side of the matchup, Towns was a part of one of the biggest moves of the offseason. The new star addition to the Knicks, Towns’ offensive punch was a big piece to New York’s attack on that end of the floor. He and Brunson were both All-Star starters, the second time in team history the team has had two. They’re in good company, joining Walt Frazier and Earl Monroe on a short list.
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Myles Turner and Karl-Anthony Towns playoff numbers
In the first round of the playoffs, Myles Turner and the Pacers were handed a tough matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks. Giannis Antetokounmpo is a MVP finalist playing some of his best basketball, even with Damian Lillard out with blood clots in his right calf. In the five games it took for Indiana to win the series, Turner averaged 16.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game.
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In the second round, Indiana took on the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers. Cleveland struggled with injuries to players around Donovan Mitchell, but Turner and Co. didn't take their foot off the gas. Myles Turner averaged 16.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.8 blocks in the five games his team needed to finish the Cavaliers off. It was also his second series shooting better than 37% from deep.
Towns and the Knicks had a much different path to the Eastern Conference Finals. They took on Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons in the first round of their playoff run. In a six-game battle against Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart, Towns put up 19.7 points, 10 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per contest.
New York then slayed an old demon as they sent the defending champion Boston Celtics home in six games in the second round. It took historically bad shooting and a tragic injury to Jayson Tatum, but Towns and Brunson led the Knicks past Boston. Towns himself averaged 19.8 points on 47% shooting from the field.
Myles Turner vs Karl-Anthony Towns regular season stats
In the 2024-25 season, the Knicks and Pacers played each other three times. New York won the season series 2-1, but not a single game was decided by less than 10 points. If that is any indication, this series could include some one-sided blowouts along with games that go down to the wire.
Towns had his way in all three matchups against Indiana, averaging 30.3 points and 12 rebounds while shooting 54.8% from the field. Against the Pacers, his scoring increased by more than five points per game in their three matchups.
Myles Turner, on the other hand, had a lot more trouble against the Knicks this season. He put up 13 points per game to go along with 7.7 rebounds and one block against New York. With the exception of his rebounding, Turner's stats are worse than usual when he matches up against Towns.
Both teams have different defensive strategies they will deploy when the series begins on Wednesday, but Towns and Turner will go at one another in the paint on their rolls to the basket in pick-and-rolls.
The point guards could end up deciding the series, but the contributions of both team's starting centers could determine just how lopsided the series could become as both fight for their first NBA Finals appearrance in decades.
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