Only One Team Can Stop The Knicks In Nba's Eastern Conference Playoffs

NEW YORK — It’s the second quarter, and Karl-Anthony Towns is perched on his padded seat at the end of the New York Knicks' bench. He’s hunched over, staring at the floor. He’s shaking his head now, burying it in a towel. He mutters to himself.

It’s the second quarter and Towns is in foul trouble.

***

Towns is back. It’s the third quarter now, and he hasn’t missed a shot. He has embraced his new role as point-center, a role that has helped the Knicks become the most dangerous team in the East. Towns has been slashing to the rim, zipping passes to his teammates when the defense collapses on him. He has been lacing trail 3s.

But Towns has picked up his fourth foul, so he’s back at the end of the bench. His coach has just told him that he won’t return to the floor until the fourth quarter, to be ready. Towel in hand, Towns is shaking his head.

***

It’s very late in the fourth quarter, and Towns is checking out of the game for the last time. Coated in sweat, he’s extending his hand out to courtside fans. He stops to dap up coach Mike Brown. He heads to the end of the bench and hugs Jose Alvarado.

After just missing out on what would’ve been his third triple-double of the playoffs, Towns and the Knicks scrapped their way to an uneven 108-102 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers Wednesday, May 6. Now with a 2-0 lead in the conference semifinals, this game proved two things:

• No team in the world has been playing better basketball than New York.
• The only team in the East that can stop the New York Knicks is the New York Knicks.

Entering Wednesday night, they had won their previous four playoff games by 135 points, most ever in NBA postseason history. They also became the first team in NBA history to win three consecutive playoff games by at least 25 points.

They have continuity and balance. They have a trio of demons in OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart, the architects of the best perimeter defense in the East. They can ignite on offense with Towns and Jalen Brunson.

But New York falls into foul trouble frequently. There are times, particularly late in close games, when the ball can stagnate on offense in the hands of Brunson. Every now and then, they get careless with the ball and commit unnecessary turnovers.

Latest updates: Knicks' OG Anunoby exits with concerning leg injury

This is all to say that, right now, this New York squad is the best this city has seen in a quarter century and its best bet to break a 52-year title drought. But, to do that, the Knicks must avoid the self-imposed mistakes, the avalanche of undisciplined fouls.

“I don’t ever want to lose the physicality,” Towns told reporters after the game. “That’s something that has done us well in the last games. I’ll look at the tape, and I’ll get better, more disciplined. I don’t want to put my team in that position again. I got to do a better job.”

In the second half, the Knicks responded and played smarter. They didn’t fall for the bait and adapted to the style of officiating, avoiding careless swipes at the ball. More importantly, that translated to offense, where they settled into their regular offensive rhythm and played with pace.

In the first half, New York was called for 14 personal fouls. After intermission, that number dropped to only 6. But that first half came after a Game 1 in which Philadelphia took double the free throws (34) that New York shot (17).

Just to show how dangerous this team can be when it plays with urgency and discipline, just look to the final minutes of Game 2, when New York, which was facing a three-point deficit, closed the game on a 12-3 run.

“Staying disciplined — those are the details I’m talking about that we have to pay attention to,” Brunson said after the game. “Because it can be a difference-maker.”

Towns finished the game with an ultra-efficient 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting and nearly recorded his third triple-double of the postseason, adding 10 rebounds and 7 assists. Yet, he played just 27:24, and his impact was reduced somewhat because of that foul trouble.

Brunson led all New York players with a steady 26 points. Anunoby added 24.

Now, this series flips to Philadelphia, where the 76ers may get the return of star center Joel Embiid. For New York to close Philadelphia out, it will need its players to be available and on the floor and it will need to stick to its identity.

Because as currently constructed, there’s no other squad right now out East that can threaten this team.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Knicks win, lead 76ers 2-0, and are best team in Eastern Conference