The hurting New York Knicks needed some life to start their week. With injuries mounting and the Eastern Conference slowly fortifying around the ailing contenders, there was no room to rest, even against an in-house matchup against the tanking Brooklyn Nets.
Karl-Anthony Towns had spent the season’s first month drawing more side-eyes than usual, and he was who many fans pointed the finger towards in determining the player who could most benefit from a late-November breakout. The up-and-down Knicks provided plenty of inspiring flashes through the first few weeks, and that had been with the usually-accurate Towns posting 42.9/31.8% shooting splits entering the Brooklyn game.
With questions as to how well Towns fit in Mike Browns’ new offense getting louder, the star center used some of the key starting-lineup injuries to his full advantage in his best game of the season yet, scoring 37 on 14/20 shooting while roping down a dozen assists.
KAT’s Big Night at Barclays
He found the bottom of the bucket from all over the court, catching-and-shooting from wherever he wanted while looking plenty capable as a slasher and interior improviser. KAT was lethal as a trailer, attacking off of the bounce to counter defensive expectations that he’d rather spot-up from deep, and he managed to consistency leverage his gigantic frame with a soft touch on contact-heavy drives.
KAT with the left
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— Teg🚨 (@IQfor3) November 25, 2025
He opened up on getting out of the slump to postgame media, citing his work ethic and experience as a volume shooter.
“I’ve had slumps before,” he said. “So experience teaches me a lot. So just keep shooting, keep trusting the work. It’s an opportunity for me to tell young guys. Obviously, the shot hasn’t been falling. But I continue to show up to work — first one there, last one to leave — and just continue to believe in the work. I know it’s disappointing to not see the results everyday to your standard, but never change the grind. … It feels good. And it raises the confidence.”
Nov 24, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) goes to the basket as Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton (33) defends during the first half at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Continuing to Play His Game
Towns wasn’t just making the most of the shots left over by the missing Anunoby, either. The performance exposed the entire KAT conundrum; while lacking the defensive impact to play as a full-time center, necessitating the need for a true anchor in Mitchell Robinson, he’s at his best without a non-spacer taking up space in the post.
While he’s perhaps more well-known for his 3-point jumper than any other trick in his bag, Towns would be wasted as a pure perimeter-dweller, and he who he is until he finally broke the slump.
“I know everybody wants me to shoot the 3-ball,” he said. “But I’m a more complete player than that. And a lot of times, my career shooting the 3 allows me to get to the basket and opens the game up for myself and my teammates. And tonight was a good night where attacking the paint, getting some layups, tough layups, whatever the case may be, opened the basket up for me and made the 3-ball much easier.”
It’s unlikely that Towns will average anything remotely close to the evening’s scoring totals or shooting efficiency for an extended period, but he can very easily replicate this playstyle as the Knicks look to resist falling to the eastern middle ground.
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