New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns appeared to injure his left knee after colliding with Indiana Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith with 2:11 remaining of their Game 4 Eastern Conference finals matchup on Tuesday night.
After a brief timeout due to a coach’s challenge by New York, Towns returned for the final two minutes of regulation of an eventual 130-121 loss for the Knicks. During those final minutes, he looked visibly hobbled. But after the game, Towns deflected the question when asked about the apparent injury.
Instead, he pointed to the loss that puts New York in a 3-1 series deficit against the Pacers.
“I’m only thinking about the loss, I’m not thinking about that right now,” Towns said.
With New York potentially facing elimination in Game 5 at Madison Square Garden, Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said Towns will be evaluated to determine his status for Thursday.
“He was able to go back in, so that’s a good sign,” Thibodeau said. “We’ll see where he is after he gets evaluated.”
Towns was coming off a standout performance in New York’s Game 3 win as he scored 20 of his 24 total points in the fourth quarter to erase a 20-point deficit in a 106-100 victory.
On Wednesday, Towns finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds for his eighth game this postseason with at least 20 points and 12 rebounds. Only Willis Reed (13) and Patrick Ewing (10) have more games with that stat line in a single postseason in Knicks franchise history.