Karl-Anthony Towns said he played through a Grade 2 quad strain in the Knicks’ season-opening 119-111 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.
Towns missed New York’s final two preseason games with what the team described as a quad issue and had his status for the season opener at Madison Square Garden fluctuate from probable to doubtful back to questionable in the hours leading up to tipoff on Wednesday.
The All-Star big man got specific with his injury after the Knicks improved to a 1-0 record at home against the same Cavaliers who won a conference-best 64 games last season.
“Oh yeah. I’ve been banged up and haven’t really got a chance to practice or play those last two preseason games, but I don’t wanna disappoint the fans,” Towns said at his locker after the game. “Dealing with a Grade 2 quad strain is not something easy to deal with. But we made it happen tonight. I’m glad the fans respected the effort I put in to play tonight and my teammates really did, too. So shoutouts to them supporting me and understanding the situation i was in.”
Towns went on to post 19 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the field to go with 11 rebounds and two assists in 31 minutes in the opener on Wednesday.
“We needed every single one of those rebounds those guys got,” head coach Mike Brown said after the game.
It was easily Towns’ best performance of the early season after the middling exhibition games to tune-up for the real thing.
“Oh I was hurting for sure,” said Towns. “It’s been a day for me living in it, and for y’all trying to report it, so it’s been one hell of a day. But I’m glad at the end, God’s good. We got a win, New York’s happy, the fans are happy. Things are good.”
Towns is part of a laundry list of Knicks players who battled injuries through training camp. The Knicks ruled Josh Hart (lumbar spasms) and Mitchell Robinson (left ankle load management) out against the Cavaliers, and OG Anunoby also dealt with a tweaked ankle that kept him out of the preseason finale.
With a shorthanded lineup, Brown stretched his rotation to 11 players on Wednesday.
“Just allowing ourselves to change the energy of the game at any time,” said Towns. “We’ve got a lot of guys in here who are pros and giving them a chance to affect the game and impact winning is a great testament to, one, the trust that us teammates have in each other here in this locker room, and [two] the coaching staff trusting the players, so shout out to them.”
