This Karl-Anthony Towns stat makes Knicks’ Game 3 loss to Hawks even more mind-blowingwp

The New York Knicks are floundering in their first-round series against the Atlanta Hawks, but at least one stat makes it hard to blame Karl-Anthony Towns for his team’s Game 3 loss on Thursday.

The Knicks dropped Game 3 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta to the tune of a 109-108 score. Despite the razor-thin difference in the final score, Towns somehow finished with an astounding plus/minus of plus-22. In other words, New York scored a net positive of 22 points in the 34 minutes that KAT was on the floor.

The former Kentucky Wildcats star finished the contest with 21 points on 7-for-12 shooting from the field with 17 rebounds, four assists and two steals. He had three turnovers, but his positives clearly outweigh the negatives he had in the game. It was unfortunate that the Knicks were unable to capitalize on his great performance, as they now trail Atlanta in the series, 2-1.

The plus/minus is not the be-all and end-all stat to define a player’s true impact on a game, but KAT’s was pretty telling, especially when considering the fact that his backup, Mitchell Robinson, had a minus-18. Also, Knicks guard  Mikal Bridges had an embarrassing minus-26.

Perhaps the Knicks would have avoided a loss in Game 3 if they had let Towns play a couple of minutes more.

In any case, their backs are now against the wall, as they look to stop the bleeding and prevent a dreaded 3-1 deficit when this Eastern Conference first-round playoff series resumes for Game 4 on Saturday at the same venue in Atlanta.

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