Mike Brown Calls Out Karl-Anthony Towns for Lack of Hustle After Latest Knicks Loss

Mike Brown's return to Sacramento did not do anything to spark his New York Knicks, who were thoroughly controlled right from the opening tip to the final whistle. As the final seconds ticked away, Brown took a quick leave from the court without exchanging many pleasantries with his former team. He then shared some very honest assessments of the Knicks' effort with the media.

Mike Brown leaves the floor without any interactions with Doug Christie or any other Kings players.pic.twitter.com/bTJecSucxJ
— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) January 15, 2026

"This is one of the worst, if not the worst, I've seen us play the entire year in terms of executing following a gameplan," Brown said. He also added that the Knicks were going through the motions, which is a surefire way to lose in the NBA.

Mike Brown on Knicks' in SAC: "This is one of the worst if not the worst I've seen us play the entire year in terms of following a gameplan... gotta give the Kings credit... We were out there going through the motions, you go through the motions in this league you're gonna get… pic.twitter.com/6N9M84rzTT
— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) January 15, 2026

Brown also addressed a strange play minutes before halftime when Karl-Anthony Towns took quite a bit of time peeling himself off the floor to get back on defense. The shorthanded Knicks eventually allowed a three-pointer to Russell Westbrook that extended the Kings' lead to 17 points.

Karl-Anthony Towns falls down driving to the basket, stays on the ground in the backcourt, and misses the easy loose ball rebound leading to a Kings 3 - Mike Brown heated on the sidelines

Via: https://t.co/CJeQvV1UPy pic.twitter.com/0igyzpRi9a
— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) January 15, 2026

“He drove. Something happened where he fell down. He drove, he fell down,” Brown said. “When you fall down, you got to get up and got to sprint down the floor. And even when you’re the last guy down the floor, you got to get down there just in case there’s a long rebound. But there was no urgency. That wasn’t the only play. There were a handful of plays that we did that. But there was no sense of urgency on that particular play to get back. And it was a five-point swing.

“If he at least gets down the floor, long rebound, he’s going to get it because he’s trailing the play. We watched the play at halftime and he didn’t even cross halfcourt. That sums up what our night was.”

New York has now dropped six of its last eight games and trails Detroit by four games for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. The lackluster stretch has allowed the rest of the decent teams in the East to make up ground and bunch up much closer as the season officially reaches the midway point.