Karl-Anthony Towns working to create his own legendary Knicks moment

Probably the most well-known second in Knicks historical past wasn’t proven reside on nationwide tv, and it occurred lengthy earlier than the vast majority of at present’s Knicks followers have been born.

Nonetheless, anybody who has ever cheered for the Knicks — whether or not or not it’s in the course of the Walt Frazier period or the Jalen Brunson period or someplace in between — can provide play-by-play of Willis Reed’s emotional hobble by the tunnel for Recreation 7 of the Knicks-Lakers NBA Finals in 1970 as if that they had been there sitting courtside consuming a 50-cent scorching canine.

The truth that this 55-year-old tunnel stroll nonetheless is essentially the most legendary second in Knicks historical past is a telling touch upon the franchise’s lack of legendary moments over time.

Yet one more Knicks large man, Karl-Anthony Cities, had an opportunity so as to add to the staff’s historic canon when he joined his teammates on the ground for the must-win Recreation 5 of the Japanese Convention finals towards the Pacers on Thursday night time regardless of having been listed as questionable on the staff’s harm report with a left knee contusion he suffered late in Recreation 4.

Cities got here up with one other large recreation when his staff wanted it most, contributing 24 factors and 13 rebounds because the Knicks stored their season alive with a 111-94 win over the Pacers. The Knicks, down 3-2 and hoping to tie the sequence, now head to Indiana for one more must-win recreation.

“I looked at the game and it said Game 5 do-or-die. That was all I needed to see,” City mentioned of his determination to play. “Shout-out to the medical staff.”

Cities was a plus-26 for the sport, the largest plus-minus differential of anybody on the staff. He and Brunson, who led the staff with 32 factors, each got here out sturdy within the first quarter.

“I thought he was very aggressive and that’s super-important,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau mentioned of Cities. “Jalen as well. I felt the first quarter set the tone for the game. We have to make sure we stay aggressive and stay disciplined.”

It marked the second time on this sequence that Cities has give you a giant recreation when the Knicks wanted it most. His 20-point outburst within the fourth quarter of Recreation 3 in Indiana seemingly saved the Knicks from an embarrassing sweep.

An aggressive, attacking Cities is the one factor the Pacers haven’t had a solution for on this sequence. So though Cities’ standing wasn’t introduced till half-hour earlier than tipoff, there was little doubt he could be on the court docket.

“Oh, he’s playing,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle mentioned with a slight eye roll in his pregame information convention.

Cities definitely regarded  spry within the first quarter. On back-to-back possessions halfway by the interval, he showcased his distinctive offensive abilities by hitting a three-pointer from the highest of the circle after which, after a miss by Andrew Nembhard, drove onerous to the basket to present the Knicks a 17-11 lead.

It’s onerous to overstate how a lot stress Cities was beneath coming into Recreation 5. With the Knicks down 3-1 within the sequence, the temper of town was pretty downbeat, with followers searching for causes that their staff was struggling towards the Pacers after beating the Celtics in six video games.

The Knicks took a giant step ahead by attending to the Japanese Convention finals for the primary time in 25 years. But having tasted success, it’s clear that followers need extra, and there have been some who questioned whether or not Cities was the correct of famous person to have taking part in subsequent to Brunson.

The Knicks reconfigured their roster to be able to commerce for Cities proper earlier than coaching camp, and by many measures, he has had a big-time yr. Cities averaged 24.4 factors and 12.8 rebounds within the common season en path to a range on the All-NBA third staff. Then, for the second straight yr, he helped lead a staff to the convention finals, having carried out so final yr with Minnesota.

Cities has an unimaginable mixture of offensive abilities. He is likely one of the best-shooting large males within the historical past of the league, he can put the ball on the ground and he can rating within the submit.

But he’s such a legal responsibility on protection that the Knicks have needed to change their beginning lineup to play Mitchell Robinson alongside him.

Cities mentioned he by no means doubted that he was going to have the ability to play and knew he needed to give you a giant recreation.

“I simply got here into the sport fascinated by being ultra-aggressive,” he mentioned. “If I get a chance to go downhill or impact the game, I wanted to do that. Tonight was a great night for us.”

A great night that they are hoping they can replicate two more times.

Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and options author within the sports activities division at Newsday. She has coated sports activities in New York for greater than 20 years.