Knicks’ Towns drops 44 on Heat in early-season statement game

MIAMI — Someone asked coach Tom Thibodeau before New York’s game Wednesday night what else he’s looking to get from Karl-Anthony Towns as this season goes along.

Thibodeau didn’t sound worried.

A couple hours later, Towns showed why.

In only his fourth game with the Knicks, Towns went wild — 44 points, by far the most by any New York player in this still-young season, leading his club to a 116-107 win over the Heat. 

He might be a perfect fit into the decades-long Knicks-Heat rivalry. Towns averages 25.4 points in his career in games at Miami, his second-highest road average against any opponent. He averages 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.”

Towns, traded by Minnesota to New York as camps were opening about a month ago in the deal that sent Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to the Timberwolves, wasn’t off to a bad start to the season by any measure. His first three games: 12 points, 21 points and 13 points, with two double-doubles. Not eyepopping, but not bad, either.

Game 4 of his New York career was different from the get-go.

He had 24 by halftime, kept rolling in the second half, was 17-of-25 from the floor, grabbed 13 rebounds and had the fourth-most points ever by a Knick against the Heat in the 173rd game between the clubs. New York has won 88, Miami 85.

The 44 points also were the most in a game by a Knicks center since Patrick Ewing in 1995. And Towns became the first Knicks player with 40 points, 10 rebounds and 65% shooting in a game since Carmelo Anthony in 2014.

According to Second Spectrum, Towns made 11 catch-and-shoot shots, his most in a game since 2018 vs. the Hawks. It also tied for the second-most made catch-and-shoot shots by a Knicks player in a game since player tracking began in 2013-14.

“I love his approach because he’s not forcing anything,” Thibodeau said. “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.”

There’s 78 games to go, but Towns already has an appreciation for the Knicks and what’s possible this season.

“They’re gritty. They find a way to win. They never quit,” Towns said. “Bringing that New York mentality every single night, it’s something that you recognize when you get to live in that kind of culture.”

Information from ESPN Research and The Associated Press was used in this report.