Each time Karl-Anthony Towns flexed his left knee he hoped not to feel it, that the hurt would magically go away. A collision with Aaron Nesmith in the final minutes of the Knicks’ Game 4 loss to the Pacers left Towns with a deep bruise so painful that hours before Thursday’s elimination game, Tom Thibodeau declared Towns a “game-time decision.” Beating Indiana with Towns had already proven difficult. Beating it without him would be impossible.
Towns didn’t just play in Game 5. He was brilliant. It was 24 points for Towns in the Knicks’ 111–94 win, along with 13 rebounds and three assists. He bulldozed his way to the basket for buckets, yanked down offensive rebounds, flipped in short jumpers. He made 10 shots. Nine of them came in the paint. Each New York starter finished the game a net positive. Towns was a whopping plus-26.
