New York (AFP) – Karl-Anthony Towns has matched Victor Wembanyama in a battle of big men, a major reason why the New York Knicks are two games from their first NBA title since 1973. Wembanyama, a 7-foot-4 (2.24m) Frenchman, has averaged 27.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 3.5 blocked shots, and 1.5 steals a game for San Antonio. But the Knicks have a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven championship series thanks to containing “Wemby” and forcing mistakes in key situations.
A major part of that defensive effort has been the work of Towns, who has 19.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.0 blocks a game for New York. “It’s great when you get to go against a great player, a player I’ve spoken about countless times that is going to be a generational player,” Towns said. “It’s something we’ve never seen in the NBA before so to be able to go and play in this moment against the best is all you could ask for. For us to be in this position right now at 2-0 speaks to our team, the resiliency, grit, what we’ve been able to do collectively as a group to put ourselves in this position and to be coming home with that kind of success.”
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A key reason the Knicks have won twice is expecting nothing less than the best from the Spurs. “Every single game you expect their best. That’s how you don’t get caught in a way lacking,” Towns said. “You expect their best, so you want to bring your best. This is the NBA Finals. There’s no time to take any game easy or to take any game lightly.” Together with Knicks scoring leader Jalen Brunson, Towns has adapted his game to do whatever his teammates need to boost their victory chances. “I’ve always had to change my role for the betterment of the team,” Towns said. “One game Jalen got hurt, that’s when I have to be a primary scorer. Other games when he’s cooking, I got to be a facilitator, a hub, assist maker, aggressive in playmaking. Then there are games when I need to do both. There’s also days where I got to be a decoy, got to be the best screener, got to be the best spacer for our offense. Whatever it takes to win, especially when you’re in the NBA Finals, I’m willing to do.”
The Knicks went down 2-1 in the first round against Atlanta and have won 13 games in a row since then, two shy of the longest win streak in NBA playoff history. “We always talk about the unity and camaraderie of this team. We don’t ever want to put ourselves in that position again,” Towns said. “So just every single day coming to the game with that desperation, that will to not put ourselves in a bad spot, I think that’s what’s led us to this point.” US President Donald Trump will attend game three. “He will just be there watching the game,” New York’s OG Anunoby said. “We’re just going to go as usual and play our game.”
– ‘Success’ is the word – The Knicks seek their third NBA crown, and first since 1973, with long-suffering New York supporters in mind. “(To) see our fans see Finals basketball after all this time is going to be really special,” Towns said. “We’ve got to be desperate for these fans. It’s up to us to bring it, give ’em something to cheer for, give ’em something to get loud for and give ’em something to believe in. Hope has been brought back to the city. We’ve revitalized that word. But the word ‘success’ hasn’t been seen in this city for a long time so we have to continue to fight to bring that word back to fruition.”
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