How Karl-Anthony Towns was unlocked in Knicks’ Game 3 win over Pistons

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NEW YORK — Two birds, one stone.

The Knicks played fast in their 118-116 Game 3 victory over the Pistons. Karl-Anthony Towns had his best offensive game of the series.

Correlation?

“I think so,” New York’s Josh Hart said.

New York took a 2-1 series lead in Detroit behind 31 points from Towns. The Knicks, a team that often plays at a snail’s pace, came out supercharged in a lively, hostile environment inside downtown Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena. New York started the game turning defense into easy offense, creating a theme that would pop up throughout the course of the hard-fought game. The Knicks’ guards and wings pushed the pace, while Towns trailed behind, eager and able to reap the rewards.

Of Towns’ 10 made shots on the night, six came with 14 seconds or more on the shot clock. There was little excessive dribbling. Nearly everything was done with both purpose and force. Part of the puzzle New York needed to solve was getting Towns involved in the flow of the offense, while the other part was Towns being willing to, well, simply impose his will, whether as a shooter or a driver.

All of those things aligned and created a performance that was needed in order for the Knicks to snatch back control of the series.

“In transition, KAT is someone I’m definitely trying to look for and find while he’s flowing into the halfcourt, where he can knock down shots trailing or able to attack,” said Hart, who had nine assists on the night, four of which were to Towns early in the shot clock.

This was Towns’ first made shot of the night, setting the tone for what was to come. Hart does a tremendous job of making a quick read and allowing Towns to catch the ball in rhythm as he flows into the halfcourt.

There have been times this season, and in this playoffs, where Towns finds himself in positions like this and either hesitates to attack or puts the ball on the floor and ends up finding himself in a packed paint. He doesn’t do that here, and instead Towns shoots over the smaller Cade Cunningham in rhythm and drills a 3.

This was Towns’ very next made shot and, of course, it was assisted by Hart in transition.

One of the favorite lines of Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau is “The game tells you what to do.” Well, in this situation, the game told Towns to rise up and let it fly. Detroit big man Jalen Duren doesn’t mark Towns soon enough in transition. Towns thinks about attacking the rim for a brief second, which would likely bail Duren out. However, Towns realizes the amount of space he has, takes a step back, and drills yet another 3.

Towns was purposeful all night. There were very few wasted motions. One of the game’s greatest shooting big men did what has helped make him one of the league’s premier offensive players, as well as a lot of money.

“I got opportunities to do things on the offensive end,” Towns said. “The defense … we found a way in transition to get me some good looks, and I was able to capitalize on that and start the night off. Shoutout to Jalen (Brunson), Josh. They found me in the flow of the offense and I was able to capitalize on those opportunities.”

It wasn’t just the distance shooting for Towns, though, that allowed him to dominate in transition. When guarded by Pistons centers, Towns did a good job of surveying the floor when getting downhill and recognizing when a drive would be the better option.

In the above clip, for example, New York does a great job of spacing the floor. Tim Hardaway Jr. can’t leave Mikal Bridges on the strong side, and Cunningham is hesitant to leave OG Anunoby. On the other side of the floor, Ausar Thompson has to stay near Brunson and, while Tobias Harris could do a better job of helping guard the one non-shooter in Hart on the floor, he has to respect Hart as a cutter, which is something he does very well.

When Towns catches the ball, he uses the threat of his shot to create even more of advantage against Duren, while recognizing the space behind the big man. Towns immediately attacks.

The Knicks often thrive when traditional centers guard Towns because of the threat of his shot and his ability to dribble around more lumbering players. He absolutely capitalized on those situations in the majority of Game 3.

“He’s seen that all year,” Thibodeau said. “Usually, he’s going to get a mix of guys, he’s going to get different looks. I think he’s comfortable playing inside and outside. A smaller guy goes on him, he goes into the post. A bigger guy goes on him, he takes him away from the basket. You can catch-and-shoot with him. You can pick-and-roll with him. There’s a lot of different things you can do with him. Just recognize that, and play off each other.”

Despite all of this offensive talk, the Knicks were able to do what they did in Game 3 because of the defense. New York got stops in bunches. It rebounded much better than it did in Game 2. It’s hard to play fast when the other team is putting the ball through the net or getting a second crack at points. Anunoby and Bridges were pivotal in the second quarter, specifically in helping the Knicks halt the Pistons’ offense at the point of attack.

The blueprint for New York is simple. The Knicks are at their most deadly as an offense when the defense rises to the occasion. The thing is, though, that hasn’t always been the case.

New York knows what it has to do to get out of this series as victors. Doing it again and again is what people are waiting to see.

(Photo: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)

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