Steve Popper: Knicks, Karl-Anthony Towns looking more ready for playoffs despite loss
Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns takes a moment to himself before the start of an NBA basketball against the Washington Wizards at Madison Square Garden on March 22, 2026. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -— With a win Thursday night, the Knicks could have locked down a playoff spot, an official clinching that will hardly be a surprise when it comes with their next win. But instead of a mission accomplished, the Knicks came back to earth and saw a seven-game winning streak snapped against one of the hottest teams in the NBA.
The Knicks streak had come at the expense of a procession of lottery-bound teams and while they will soon be able to turn their attention to first-round opponent, maybe hit would be best if it wasn’t the Charlotte Hornets, who delivered a 114-103 beating at the Spectrum Center.
The loss was a reality check in the first stop on a four-game road trip that will continue on through Oklahoma City, Houston and Memphis, and if it served as a wakeup call, a reminder that nothing has been accomplished yet, well, it did that.
“Obviously they played very well,” Josh Hart said. “They were physical. I just felt like we were a step slow. I think that’s when the other team is playing at that pace with that physicality and you’re a step slow it’s not going to be a good day.”
But the playoff spot will be secured eventually. And then the Knicks can focus on what matters most — readying for the postseason. They can turn their attention to the first-round opponent — whether it is a red-hot team in the Hornets and their high-octane offensive prowess, or a wild card of injury updates in the 76ers or even the Raptors, who haven’t beaten the Knicks in years.
But mostly what the Knicks seem focused on is themselves, making sure that they are at their best when the postseason arrives. They can begin to make sure their bodies are rested, their minds are right and they are ready for the challenge that will come in the postseason, which is what this team will truly be measured by.
“Obviously, it means a lot when you clinch a playoff spot,” Karl-Anthony Towns said. “We’ve got to continue to find that 1% every day getting better. Just because you clinch a spot doesn’t mean you’re supposed to win in the playoffs. It just gives us a chance.”
While the NBA debates the 65-game rule for postseason awards, all of the Knicks’ starters have avoided a major absence (three of them — Towns, Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges — already have passed 65 and OG Anunoby and Josh Hart are on track for at least that many).
They even shut down the debates from ESPN’s talk shows. Hart barked back at Stephen A. Smith for his criticism of Bridges and telling Hart not to take a stand defending his teammate. “For me, I think Stephen A. as a part-time Knicks fan should shut the hell up,’’ Hart said. “He barely knows guys that are on the team . . . When Stephen A. rolls up to MSG, Madison Square Garden, with a New York on his chest and ties up the sneaks and plays for us, then I’ll listen to what he has to say.”
What the Knicks seem intent on now is making sure they are right when it counts. Coach Mike Brown has preached that everything they do is to continue on an upward trajectory, peaking in the postseason.
“We’ve gotten to that point,” Brown said. “We added some plays, fine-tuned some plays, stuff like that. We’re tinkering here and there. But nothing major like we did before all-star break, January time. We’re trying to fine tune it and let our guys get comfortable with what we’re doing on both ends of the floor so they can add their own stamp to it.”
Towns might be the clearest example of that — even on a night when he had just 13 points in 22 minutes against the fast-breaking Hornets. He questioned his role in Brown’s system all the way back in preseason, uncertain about changes from a style that had carried him through 10 previous NBA seasons. His minutes and field-goal attempts are at a career low and his scoring average (20.2 points per game) is the lowest since his rookie season.
But since making his seventh appearance in the All-Star Game, he has seen his numbers rise across the board — points per game, rebounds, shooting percentage, three-point percentage — and his defense has made a drastic positive shift, helping the Knicks to the best defense in the NBA during the last two months.
“I just know I had to change,” Towns said. “I had a lot of adjustments this year. I had to change my role, what it usually has been. I had to adjust my game, adjust to a role I haven’t been part of in my career. But I’m happy that, you know, one thing about me is I always fight through adversity, I fight through whatever change there has to be. I’m willing to sacrifice to do whatever it takes for this team to win. I’m glad that I’m just being a star in my role and I’ve been able to find different ways to impact winning in my role.”
It’s not just Towns, though. Hart has regained his shooting touch of late. Bridges has played better in recent days after a long shooting slump. And Brunson was Brunson this week, rescuing the Knicks from a tough matchup with New Orleans.
The calendar says the Knicks have about two weeks until the regular season ends, and by avoiding the play-in tournament, about another week of rest and readying for when this all really matters.
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.
