Karl-Anthony Towns Prevails in Knicks' All-Star Civil War

Karl-Anthony Towns bested a New York Knicks teammate in the opening round of the 2025 NBA All-Star Game.

Feb 15, 2025; Oakland, CA, USA; Chuck’s Global Stars forward Karl-Anthony Towns (32) of the New York Knicks stands on the court during the NBA All Star-Practice at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images | Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

With mid-winter exhibition glory on the line, Karl-Anthony Towns prevailed in a New York Knicks civil war at the 2025 NBA All-Star Game.

Towns and Jalen Brunson fought on opposite sides of the first All-Star tournament's maiden voyage on Sunday night at Chase Center. Towns and "Chuck's World Stars," a group of mostly international talents and more chosen by Charles Barkley, bested Kenny Smith's "Young Stars," co-starring Brunson, by a 41-32 final.

Karl-Anthony Towns FROM DOWNTOWN ! 🎯

(🎥 : @NBAonTNT | #NBAAllStar)pic.twitter.com/iUyC6pbILF
— Ball Time (@BallTimee) February 17, 2025

Towns tallied six points, pairing a couple of three-pointers with a trio of rebounds. After sinking his first, Towns offered a tribute to his teammate Brunson, imitating the Knicks captain's three-point celebration by pressing the thenar space of his to his mouth and wiggling three fingers. Brunson tied Darius Garland (Cleveland) for the Young Stars' lead in assists with three and also had a steal that helped lead to the squad's first points en route to a target score of 40.

A perfect game from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City) led the way for Barkley's battalion, as the Canadian sensation was a perfect 5-of-5 from the field with 12 points. Depth stars Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio) and Trae Young (Atlanta) each played a role off the bench, as the former had six points and four rebounds while the longtime Knicks nemesis had five assists. Garland and teammate Evan Mobley (Cleveland) and 3-Point Contest winner Tyler Herro (Miami) led Smith's team with six points each in defeat.

Chuck's World Stars will now face the winner of part two of the All-Star trio: a team curated by Shaquille O'Neal, known as "Shaq's OGs" will take on the winner of Friday's Rising Stars competition a group overseen by fellow Los Angeles basketball legend and TNT colleague Candace Parker.

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