Karl-Anthony Towns is reminder of how refreshing it is to watch best athletes put in extra work

In the overall blueprint of a season it means nothing, sure. And on the complicated matrix by which we judge the careers of pro athletes, it probably means even less.

Still, it’s been hard for me to get the image out of my mind of Karl-Anthony Towns limping back onto the floor Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks had just lost a nerve-fraying game to the Bulls, 124-123, and Towns had been heroic: 46 points, 10 rebounds, and he’d played the last few minutes in knee discomfort so obvious he twice hit the floor, was constantly trying to shake it off and wound up missing Friday’s game with the Nets.

By any measure, he was the only reason the Knicks weren’t blown out of the gym. But he also missed four free throws. And to Towns, that meant four times he’d failed to, at least, allow the Knicks to force overtime.

So he came out to the floor. He solemnly started shooting free throws. Workers halted their conversion of the Garden to a hockey rink as Towns kept shooting his unique combination of punishment and practice. Later, he explained himself.