BOSTON — Karl-Anthony Towns refused to sit this one out.
The Knicks’ All-Star center landed awkwardly on his left knee while attacking the rim with under nine minutes left in Sunday’s 118-105 loss to the Celtics.
He limped to the bench on the next possession, then walked off the court and into the locker room. Moments later, with his team trailing by 19, Towns emerged from the tunnel and checked himself back into the game with 4:12 remaining.
“I always want to play,” Towns told The Daily News at his locker after the loss. “My teammates are out there fighting, and I’m gonna go out there and fight with them.”
Towns has dealt with right knee tendinopathy this season, but it was his left knee that required surgery last year, when he underwent a mid-March procedure to repair a torn meniscus before returning in time for the Timberwolves’ Western Conference Finals push.
“It’s a long season. It has peaks and valleys,” he said. “It is what it is.”
Towns said the Knicks’ medical staff wanted to examine his knee after he exited in the fourth quarter, but he declined, opting to walk it off and return to the floor instead.
The effects were evident: a noticeable limp, reduced lateral movement and a diminished impact in what was already a decided game.
“He said he was fine,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said when asked about the decision to put Towns back onto the floor. “His rebounding was terrific.”
Towns finished with 24 points and 18 rebounds in the loss to the Celtics.
His answer when asked about his knee suggested some uncertainty about his availability for Wednesday’s matchup against Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers.
“[The knee is] good,” he said. “We’ll just see how the next couple days go. Time will tell.”
CAP’S GOTTA LEAD
Jalen Brunson’s voice carries weight in the Knicks’ locker room, but after Sunday’s loss, he stressed that leadership doesn’t always mean speaking up — it’s about knowing when to.
“I think there’s always going to be times where there’s a lot of voices, a lot of people being vocal,” Brunson said. “So it’s a matter of when and where to say something.
“When we have a lot of guys in here talking and trying to voice their opinion, for everyone to get on the same page is just knowing when to say something, because I think the more times you hear different voices, it can seem like too many cooks in the kitchen.
“So for me, it’s just knowing when to say something. And making sure I’m saying it early and often. I’ve got to be better at that because I’m not doing my job leading, just based on the way we’ve been playing.
“It falls on my shoulders, and I’m okay with that. I’ve got to be ready to step up and be better.”
NEGOTIATION TACTICS
Josh Hart returned from a two-game absence due to right knee soreness and delivered the Knicks’ best performance of the day — 20 points, 11 rebounds, and 9 assists in 40 minutes.
Before the game, however, he couldn’t resist having some fun explaining the rationale behind his extended hiatus.
“I was trying to make sure communications were back up [between] MSG and Optimum,” he said, cracking a grin. “I saw what was going on the last couple of days.
“Now that we good, it’s green-lit, I’m back and ready to go. Negotiations are solid, so I left on good terms.”
Hart acknowledged that managing his knee will be an ongoing challenge, but he’s not letting it slow him down.
“It’s something that comes and goes, something that I’ve managed for a long time — one time I was on the bubble in New Orleans, I would play and the next day, I really couldn’t even get to half court,” he said. “It was a struggle for me to even jog to half court, and now I’m playing 48 minutes for Tom Thibodeau.
“So there’s peaks and valleys with it. Not really worried about it.
“All the time, I pray for it before every game. By His grace, I’m healed, so I go out there and play my game.”
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