Why Karl-Anthony Towns is downplaying Knicks’ barrage of playoff blowouts

NEW YORK – The New York Knicks trounced the Philadelphia 76ers at home in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. The final score was 137-98. Mike Brown’s group became the first team in the play-by-play era to amass at least a 30-point lead in three consecutive playoff games.

One of New York’s All-Stars in Karl-Anthony Towns isn’t getting too excited just yet. When asked about the continued blowouts by reporters postgame, the center acknowledged the cold, hard truth that the wins would lose meaning if the Knicks aren’t able to close out the series.

“We’re playing well, but it doesn’t mean anything if we can’t find a way to get three more wins. We just gotta stick to the task at hand. You said it’s the last four games? Key word is last. Doesn’t have anything to do with the next three, four, five, six. We gotta lock in, stay disciplined, and execute at a high level,” Towns explained.

Towns only needed to play 20 minutes against the 76ers on Monday, spending the entire fourth quarter on the bench. The big man posted 17 points, six rebounds, and six assists on 7-11 shooting in the stretch, proving that his impact in the Hawks series as a playmaker wasn’t dependent on Atlanta’s lack of depth at center.

Towns fouled Joel Embiid twice in the game’s first five minutes. But the Knicks’ star center still found ways to help his group come out victorious.

New York ended up winning his minutes by 11 points. And while a playoff series doesn’t truly start until a road team wins a game, Towns and the Knicks took full advantage of the Sixers’ exhaustion from Saturday’s Game 7.

They’ll have a chance to take a 2-0 series lead in Game 2, set to tip off at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

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