INDIANAPOLIS — With only two minutes left in the game Tuesday night, Karl-Anthony Towns found himself on the ground, in pain and holding his left knee.
Despite the discomfort, Towns returned to the game and completed the Knicks’ 130-121 defeat to the Pacers in Game 4, putting them in a 3-1 deficit and close to elimination.
The All-Star big man, who finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds in 37 minutes, also appeared to be favoring the same knee earlier in the game.
When questioned afterward about his availability for Game 5 on Thursday night in New York, Towns focused on the immediate outcome: “I’m only thinking about this loss, I’m not worried about that right now,” he said. “It’s disappointing not to win. We just didn’t do enough to secure the victory tonight.”
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said he believed “it’s a good sign” that Towns was able to remain in the game, and “we’ll see where he is after he gets evaluated” by the medical staff.
Towns collided with Indiana’s Aaron Nesmith with the Knicks trailing by seven with 2:11 remaining.
He initially was whistled for an offensive foul, but Thibodeau challenged the call and it was ruled that Towns had been pushed into Nesmith by Pacers center Myles Turner.
Towns, who had scored 20 points in the fourth quarter of the Knicks comeback win two nights earlier in Game 3, only played four minutes with four points in the first quarter after picking up two personal fouls.
Starting at power forward for the second consecutive game with Mitchell Robinson replacing Josh Hart in the starting lineup, Towns netted 10 points in the second quarter to reach 14 by halftime.
Still, he attempted only two 3-pointers in the game, making one, after shooting 9-for-20 from long range in the first three games of the series.
