The New York Knicks beat the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday night, evening things up at 1-1 amid their four-game road trip. Josh Hart returned from injury but wasn't why the Knicks' All-Star center was on the sidelines as the team won. Despite the big man being amid an excellent scoring night, head coach Mike Brown subbed him out for the last 9:24 of the game. It should be no slight to the majorly talented big man for the Knicks to lean into their defensive identity when they need to, which was exactly how they closed out Sunday's 123-114 victory.
Brown benches Towns amid red-hot scoring night
Towns played just 28 total minutes against the Blazers, scoring 20 points on 9-13 shooting. The center made two of his three 3-point attempts, bringing him to 35.5% from downtown on the season. He also hauled in 11 rebounds, dropped three dimes to his teammates, and blocked two shots.
It was an objectively good performance for the big man as a scorer. But the Knicks' defensive struggles had been plaguing them for weeks. On Sunday, Brown decided he had seen enough: no matter the cost.
With about ten minutes to go in the fourth quarter, Towns subbed out for the final time on Sunday night. He was caught by broadcast cameras looking understandably frustrated as he got to the Knicks' bench.
The move didn't seem to be so much about Towns or a lack of production from him. Brown spoke about the decision after the game, telling reporters in Portland that he didn't want to mess with success.
"Mike Brown said not closing with KAT was because he thought the groups out there were stringing together stops, rolling," The Athletic's James L. Edwards III reported. "Said he’ll do that if it doesn’t impact a guy’s minutes too much."
Last season, Towns was one-half, alongside Jalen Brunson, of the first Knicks duo to be selected to start the All-Star Game in fifty years. The team traded Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, and a first-round pick for the skilled big. He's still a gigantic part of their long-term plans, even despite a midseason benching down the stretch.
Brown clearly wanted to lean into the team's defensive personnel, riding the wave of Hart's return and the physicality it seemingly inspired in several Knick starters. That showed when OG Anunoby and Hart made several big plays late in the game to help the Knicks win it.
Towns' fourth-quarter benching showed that Brown thinks his group can represent several identities out there on the court. On Sunday, he wanted the team to close the game with defense. Towns wasn't part of those specific plans, but he was still integral to the win.