“Saved Karl-Anthony Towns’ career”: Jay Williams guard can’t hide his feelings for Knicks star

The New York Knicks were on the brink of going down 3-0 on Sunday until Karl-Anthony Towns showed up. New York trailed the Indiana Pacers by double digits for most of the second and third quarters. Indiana’s advantage had even grown to 20 points at one point in the second period.

Things took a turn in the fourth quarter, when the Knicks finally managed to seize control of the game to win 106-100. New York’s struggles, comeback effort, and eventual triumph were reflected in how Towns performed. According to former NBA guard Jay Williams, this might very well be the biggest game of Towns’ Knicks career.

He shared his feelings on Towns on ESPN’s “Get Up” on Monday.

"Not only did it save the season for the Knicks but it saved Karl-Anthony Towns' career with the Knicks," Williams said. "What we saw last night was a guy who no longer deferred in those big moments because he couldn't."

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In the first half of Sunday's Knicks-Pacers showdown, Towns was held to only four points on 2-for-7 shooting. In the third quarter, he played eight minutes with nearly nothing to show for as he failed to get a single point and grabbed only one rebound.

However, he seemingly transformed in the fourth quarter. He went 6-for-9 on his attempts (3-for-4 on 3-pointers) and 5-for-6 from the charity stripe for a total of 20 points. He also grabbed eight rebounds in 11-and-a-half minutes of action. He finished the game with 24 points and 15 rebounds.

Also read: "Just meant a lot" - Karl-Anthony Towns remembers his late mom on Dominican Republic Mother's Day after Game 3 win

Karl-Anthony Towns credits his teammates for his success in the fourth quarter

Once Game 3 concluded and the New York Knicks emerged victorious, Karl-Anthony Towns' huge fourth quarter was the talk of the town. Naturally, he was asked during the postgame press conference about his performance in the game's final frame.

Towns responded not by talking about what he did, but by crediting his teammates for helping him get the win.

"My teammates put me in great spots to succeed and I just wanted to capitalize on the opportunity," Towns said. "All of us were doing whatever it takes to win and put ourselves in a position to win." (0:57-1:11)

While Towns was a huge catalyst for the win, his teammates contributed with their hustle. His teammates hit timely free throws and did effort plays to help hold on to their flimsy lead.

Josh Hart's late-game rebounding kept the ball away from the hands of the Pacers at critical junctures of the game.

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About the author

Miguel de Guzman

Miguel is a basketball writer at Sportskeeda with an overall experience of 7 years. A lover of the sport owing to its mental aspect, he has played it throughout high school and college as a power forward and small forward, and has also coached high school and college basketball teams. These experiences have given him a unique perspective on the game, which translates into insightful content.

For Miguel, the San Antonio Spurs, especially during the Tim Duncan era, were the embodiment of team basketball. He respects Gregg Popovich's empathy toward his players and his understanding of the game. The Spurs' titles, Kobe Bryant's poignant "Dear Basketball" tribute, Derrick Rose's remarkable 50-point game with Minnesota and Magic Johnson's remarkable comeback are among Miguel's top basketball moments.

For his articles, he conducts thorough research, cross verifies information with at least three sources, and sometimes sacrifices speed for accuracy. Content simplification and maintaining a neutral view on topics are his strengths.

Miguel follows other sports, particularly the NFL, and when not working he enjoys hobbies like cooking and playing video games.

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