Karl-Anthony Towns’ Knicks debut didn’t have huge impact

BOSTON — Karl-Anthony Towns had a relatively quiet debut with the Knicks.

The four-time All-Star center scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the Knicks’ season-opening loss to the Celtics. Despite being acquired in a major trade to fill the void left by Isaiah Hartenstein and Mitchell Robinson, Towns struggled to make a significant impact, finishing with zero blocked shots and a minus-18 rating in 24 minutes of play.

“It’s not one guy,” said Tom Thibodeau when asked about Towns’ performance. “Obviously we have to be better. So we’ll look at the film and make the necessary adjustments.”

The Celtics targeted Towns frequently on screens, resulting in an NBA record-tying 29 3-pointers made in the game. Jayson Tatum made eight, Derrick White made six, Jaylen Brown made five, and Al Horford made three.

“You have to give credit where credit is due. They made a lot of shots,” Towns commented. “Taking 61 threes in a game shows they can shoot the ball, so we need to improve defensively. We didn’t do enough on that end to give ourselves a chance to win.”

“We need to execute better defensively. Our defensive identity is crucial for our success. Offensively, we showed we can score tonight, but we need to focus on defense,” he added.

With Towns and Mikal Bridges in the Knicks’ starting lineup, the Celtics’ chemistry and familiarity with each other were evident.

See also  Joel Embiid didn't play in US men's basketball's Olympic win over South Sudan