The hours leading up to the Knicks’ season opener against the Cavaliers were a bit odd as Karl-Anthony Towns’ designation for Wednesday’s game changed twice.
He was first downgraded to doubtful before being upgraded to questionable just an hour later. Towns did play, and posted 19 points and 11 rebounds in the Knicks’ 119-111 win over Cleveland to start the regular season. But after the game, Towns was asked about the up-and-down nature of his injury designation, and the forward was candid.
“I’ve been banged up and haven’t really got a chance to practice or play in the last two preseason games,” Towns said. “I didn’t want to disappoint the fans, dealing with a Grade 2 quad strain. It’s not something that’s easy to do. We made it happen tonight. Glad the fans respect the effort I put in to play tonight, and my teammates, too. Shoutout to them for supporting me, knowing the situation that I was in.”
Towns said he was hurting while playing, but gave new coach Mike Brown and the Knicks 30 minutes on Wednesday night.
“I thought we did a good job, but I was very happy with our defense, especially in Game 1,” Towns said of his team’s performance. “We did a good job of playing with pace and having some sort of flow. I was proud of our guys.”
The Knicks host the Celtics on Friday night. It’s unclear whether Towns will push it in the second game of the season, but with the Knicks already without Josh Hart (back) and potentially Mitchell Robinson (ankle management), we’ll see how the rotation will look.
Karl-Anthony Towns says he's playing through a Grade 2 quad strain and "it was hurting"
"I didn't want to disappoint the fans. It's not something that's easy to deal with. We made it happen tonight, I'm glad the fans respected the effort I put in to play tonight" pic.twitter.com/mfzIup8QyA
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) October 23, 2025
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