Karl-Anthony Towns powers Knicks’ win over Heat with 44 points

MIAMI – Karl-Anthony Towns enjoyed his best National Basketball Association (NBA) game as a Knick, scoring 44 points and grabbing 13 rebounds as visiting New York defeated the Miami Heat 116-107 on Oct 30.

Maintaining his hot streak in Miami, Towns made 17 of 25 shots from the floor, including four of five from three-point range, in 39 minutes. His previous season high since joining New York in an offseason trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves had been 21 points.

Jalen Brunson added 22 points and nine assists with just one turnover for the Knicks, and Mikal Bridges contributed 17 points and six assists.

Towns averages 25.4 points in games at Miami, his second-highest road average against any opponent behind 25.8 points in games at Indiana.

“The weather,” Towns told MSG Network after the game, when asked why he likes games in Miami so much. “I was in Minnesota. It’s cold. It’s hot here. I like that.”

Tyler Herro led Miami with 34 points and seven assists. He made 12 of 20 shots, including eight of 13 from beyond the arc. Terry Rozier scored 16 points, but the Knicks held down Jimmy Butler (15 points) and Bam Adebayo (11 points).

Miami were again without power forward Kevin Love due to personal reasons.

Herro scored 14 points and dished three assists to help Miami to a 32-26 first-quarter lead. Towns had 12 points for the Knicks, who could not overcome Miami’s 60 per cent shooting.

The teams played to a standstill in the second quarter as Miami took a 58-52 lead into half-time, with Towns leading all second-quarter scorers with 12 points.

Miami stretched their lead to 13 points early in the third quarter, but the Knicks answered with an 11-0 run that featured three-pointers from Brunson, Bridges and OG Anunoby.

By the end of the third quarter, the Knicks led 87-80. Brunson led all third-quarter scorers with 10 points as New York shot 57.1 per cent from the floor. Miami were at 31.8 per cent.

Towns then added 14 points in the fourth quarter to help seal the Knicks’ victory.

“I love his approach because he’s not forcing anything,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said of Towns.

“He’s letting the game come to him. I want him to be assertive and everything, but I want him to let the game come to him. He’s a very gifted scorer, as you saw tonight… He can hurt you a lot of different ways.”

Over in Indianapolis, Pascal Siakam’s game-winning three-pointer with 7.3 seconds left in overtime hurt NBA champions Boston Celtics, who lost 135-132 to the Pacers.

Having come back several times to force overtime, Boston had another chance to tie the game, but Jaylen Brown missed a three-point attempt on their final possession as they fell to their first defeat in five games this season.

“It’s big, it’s big,” Siakam said as they outscored Boston 11-8 in the extra period to win a rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference finals.

He amassed 29 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, while teammate Bennedict Mathurin came off the bench to score a team-high 30 points and grab 11 rebounds.

Jayson Tatum scored a game-high 37 points for the Celtics, but was only five of 18 from beyond the arc.

In San Francisco, Buddy Hield had 21 points to lead six Golden State Warriors in double figures. Brandin Podziemski finished with 13 points, eight rebounds and seven assists as a replacement for the injured Stephen Curry as the Warriors won 104-89 against the visiting New Orleans Pelicans. REUTERS, AFP