Karl-Anthony Towns pointed to growth, discipline, and winning habits after the New York Knicks closed strong in a 103-87 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.
The win marked New York’s third straight and came after a dominant fourth quarter in which the Knicks outscored Sacramento 31-15. Towns finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds, including two pivotal three-pointers early in the final period.
“It’s good to win any game and, you know, a team that had our number last game,” Towns said. “We showed one of our worst versions of ourselves, it was good to come out here and show a better version of ourselves and find ourselves winning today.”
New York entered the night focused on correcting recent mistakes. Towns said the past few games have been about attention to detail rather than sweeping changes.
“We got back on our P’s and Q’s,” Towns said. “I think we’re just playing better as a team and and, you know, not making the same mistakes as we did in that period of time.”
The Knicks committed 21 turnovers but compensated with defense and timely execution. Towns emphasized that progress is still ongoing.
“There’s a lot of work to do and there’s a lot more consistency to go,” Towns said. “But it’s good to learn when you’re winning.”
Sacramento leaned heavily on DeMar DeRozan, who scored 34 points, but New York’s defense tightened late. Towns highlighted the value of learning through adversity.
“It’s good to have inexpensive expensive lessons and just keep working,” he said.
The Knicks relied on a closing lineup that had limited shared minutes together this season. Towns made it clear that lineup roles take a backseat to results.
“We got to win,” Towns said. “That’s the most important thing.”
He continued, “Like you don’t get upset or take it. We got to win. That’s the most important thing. That’s all I care about care about. This team care about is wins.”
Towns’ shooting helped spark the decisive run in the fourth quarter. His deep three-pointer to open the period and another moments later capped an 8-2 spurt that pushed New York ahead for good.
Jalen Brunson led all scorers with 28 points, while Mikal Bridges added 18 and OG Anunoby chipped in 15. The Knicks shot 47 percent from the field and held the Kings to 17 percent from three-point range.
The victory also carried added significance for head coach Mike Brown, who earned his first win against Sacramento since being fired by the franchise last season.
New York improved to 28-18 and remains third in the Eastern Conference standings. The Knicks will visit Toronto on Wednesday as they continue a stretch focused on consistency and defensive execution.
The Kings, who dropped their sixth straight, travel to Philadelphia on Thursday looking to regroup.
