Mike Brown was especially disappointed on Wednesday night with one play in the New York Knicks' loss to the Sacramento Kings, which he said "sums up what our night was." All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns got stripped on a drive to the basket and fell to the ground. The Knicks got a 4-on-5 stop but Towns backpedaled to score instead of running to the ball, allowing the Kings to get an open 3-pointer. Brown said there was "no urgency" during the five-point swing in the eventual loss.
Losing is magnifying everything for the Knicks
Despite the 25-15 record and holding the second seed in the Eastern Conference through Wednesday, the Knicks have definitely been struggling in recent weeks. The lack of a play from Towns in this one instance against Sacramento is not the reason for all of those woes. Brown said as much after Wednesday night's game, when asked about the sequence from Towns.
"When you fall down, you got to get up and got to sprint down the floor. And even when you’re the last guy down the floor, you got to get down there just in case there’s a long rebound. But there was no urgency. That wasn’t the only play. There were a handful of plays that we did that. But there was no sense of urgency on that particular play to get back. And it was a five-point swing," the head coach told reporters on the West Coast.
The Knicks are off to just a 2-4 start in 2026, bringing extra attention to everything that isn't a made shot or stellar pass from their players. The frustration, coupled with the local TV broadcast showing the other nine players instead of focusing on Towns as he lagged behind, arguably resulted in fans connecting dots on their own and assuming the big man simply didn't try to get up.
Footage of the play was captured from various angles, many of which were discovered by fans after the game. It was revealed that Towns both slipped and then thought he might easily score, which is why it took him a while to get back into the action and why he was so far from what was eventually a loose ball at midcourt.
Brown didn't care much for the nuance of the situation, though, adding to his initial comments that a baseline level of effort from his All-Star big man wouldn't have magically reversed his turnover, but that he just might have gotten to the loose ball that Russell Westbrook ended up making a 3-pointer with before anyone else.
“If he at least gets down the floor, long rebound, he’s going to get it because he’s trailing the play. We watched the play at halftime and he didn’t even cross halfcourt. That sums up what our night was," the coach said.
New York has a quick turnaround after Wednesday night's errors, playing the Warriors on Thursday to close out their road trip. They'll be without Jalen Brunson, which puts even more attention on Towns.