New York Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns put together a fantastic series against the Atlanta Hawks. He evolved before our very eyes, with his playmaking suddenly becoming a strength that head coach Mike Brown could turn into the hub of New York's offense.
If there's one question that still needs to be answered, however, it's an important one: How reliable is Towns in close games during the fourth quarter?
Towns was brilliant during the fourth quarter in Game 1, posting 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting from the field. He was just 2-of-9 from the floor before the final frame, however, and thus caused the question of whether or not he could put together a full star-caliber four quarters.
Unfortunately, Towns proceeded to post zero points, rebounds, assists, blocks, or steals while shooting 0-of-2 from the field during the fourth quarter of a one-point loss in Game 2.
In Game 3, Towns pulled down five rebounds and dished out a pair of assists but shot 0-of-1 from the field during the fourth quarter of yet another one-point loss. New York proceeded to win the next three games, but Towns didn't need to do much of anything during the fourth quarter of those lopsided wins.
With a new series soon to begin, the question thus persists: How reliable is Towns in late-game situations in a postseason setting?
Karl-Anthony Towns still needs to prove he can step up late for Knicks
A year ago, Towns produced a similarly polarizing trend. He posted 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting during the fourth quarter of a Game 1 win over the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals, but proceeded to underwhelm the rest of the way.
Specific to the fourth quarter, Towns shot 0-of-1 in a five-point Game 2 loss, dominated with 20 points in a six-point Game 3 win, shot 1-of-3 in Game 4, 2-of-7 in Game 5, and scored 11 points in a 17-point loss in Game 6.
Clearly, there were positive signs, much as there have been in 2026. One simply can't ignore the fact that Towns went ice cold during the fourth quarter of three of the six games during the Knicks' previous postseason series, and one of the only exceptions was a lopsided loss.
One can only hope that, Game 6 context aside, he can at least reclaim the 50/50 odds of success that he displayed against Indiana.
If Towns steps up in the fourth quarter, then the Knicks are a reasonable favorite to do well in the playoffs. That can be traced back to the 2025 postseason, as he shot at a clip of .513/.545/.714 during the fourth quarter of wins and .433/.286/.913 in losses.
With a trip to the 2026 Eastern Conference Finals on the line, the Knicks will need Towns to prove he can sustain positive form.
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