Knicks' Karl-Anthony Towns brings the heat to burn 76ers, Joel Embiid in NBA Cup opener
Knicks' Karl-Anthony Towns, center, goes up for a shot past Philadelphia 76ers' Paul George, left, during the second half of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, in Philadelphia. Credit: AP/Matt Slocum
PHILADELPHIA — Karl-Anthony Towns pounded his way toward the rim in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, going body-to-body with Joel Embiid. And when Kelly Oubre raced into double team him, Towns head-butted Oubre and slammed backward into Embiid. Both 76ers players dropped to the floor.
That a foul was called on Towns and then reversed on replay didn’t matter as much as the intent and fire that Towns played with in a test of the Knicks young season. They captured their first NBA Cup contest and made a statement as Towns attacked Embiid who was making his season debut.
Like in the playoffs, the game ended with a huge contingent of Knicks fans who invaded Wells Fargo Center chanting, “Let’s go Knicks” and the Knicks celebrating a 111-99 win.
Towns finished with 21 points, 13 rebounds and six assists. More than the numbers was the aggression and domination of Embiid, who was still acclimating to game action nearly a month into the season.
“I know we know about the talent Joel Embiid has, where he ranks, superbly talented,” Towns said. “I just wanted to go out there and do what I could to help us win. [I] found myself early on. [I] hit some shots, gave us a little bit of life, a little bit of energy. I just always want to bring that to the team.”
Leading by just three entering the fourth quarter the Knicks ran off 11 straight points and were never challenged again. With 4:34 to play, the 76ers surrounded Towns with three defenders under the basket. Instead of forcing it, he fired a pass out to Josh Hart for an open three-point and a 15-point Knicks lead.
After seeing fourth-quarter leads turn into losses in three of the previous four games, the Knicks made sure this one didn’t get away. In the final minutes, Towns, doubled again in the post, flipped a pass over his shoulder to a cutting Mikal Bridges behind him for a layup and the Philadelphia fans were streaming for the exits.
Brunson shook off early shooting troubles and an injury scare to finish with 18 points while all five starters were in double figures once again. OG Anunoby had a team-high 24 points while Josh Hart added 14 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Embiid finished with 13 points, but shot just 2-for-11 from the floor.
Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse had warned before the game. “I think [Embiid] has done a lot of work to get ready here. He looks pretty good but you’ve got to go out there and do it live. It’s a pretty tough situation to come into, a live game, everybody else has a bunch of games under their belt.”
If the 76ers were curious about how Embiid would handle the speed of his first real game action the Knicks were more than happy to provide him with a challenge. On the Knicks first possession of the game Towns drained a three-point field goal over him and then repeated it on the next possession. A floater gave him eight of the Knicks first 10 points while Embiid missed both of his shots and turned the ball over once. He was whistled for a 24-second violation while being doubled by Towns and Anunoby on another play.
Embiid misfired on his first field goal attempts before finally draining a three-pointer. But he did get calls with Towns whistled for three first-half fouls and Jericho Sims called for two.
The Knicks survived an injury scare of their own as the second half began with Brunson dribbling up the floor and stepping on the foot of Caleb Martin. Brunson fell to the court in pain, grabbing at his right ankle. As Martin dunked on the other end Brunson had to be helped off the floor and then limped to the locker room.
But he reemerged with no X-rays necessary and entered the game with 4:14 to play in the period. Shortly after that, Brunson smoothly crossed over a defender and drove in for a layup. If Brunson seemed fine, Embiid is still a work in progress.
After Embiid scored inside with 56.8 seconds left in the period, he raised his arms, pumping up the crowd. But in the excitement, Brunson saw an edge, baiting Embiid into a foul as he isolated him. And then when Embiid tried to launch a jumper Towns rose with him and swatted it.
“Obviously Joel is a great defensive player,” Hart said. “But first game back, it takes you a little while to get into the rhythm. [Towns] did what we needed him to do, came out of the gate [and] got a couple of threes, attacked the rim. He set the tone early, got big rebounds and we kind of fed off of that.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
