Karl-Anthony Towns Sends Challenge to Knicks

Karl-Anthony Towns kept things simple when asked about the New York Knicks' key to taking a 2-0 lead over the Boston Celtics.

May 5, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) shoots the ball against Boston Celtics center Al Horford (42) in the fourth quarter during game one of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images | David Butler II-Imagn Images

For a good portion of their Eastern Conference semifinal opener against the Boston Celtics — namely amidst their comeback from 20 points down — the New York Knicks played perfectly.

According to Karl-Anthony Towns, it's not enough.

"We've got to execute at a higher level in Game 2 if we expect to come out with a win," Towns bluntly declared in video from SNY. "We're just focusing on the game tonight. We had a good shootaround, had a good day just to recalibrate and get out team together to go out there and compete at a high level."

"We've got to execute at a higher level in Game 2 if we expect to come out with a win"

- Karl-Anthony Towns pic.twitter.com/wwOAo5SFLv
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) May 7, 2025

There have been plenty of surprises in the second round of the NBA Playoffs but the Knicks taking a 2-0 lead over the defending champion Celtics would no doubt be one of the most shocking developments.

Boston won the regular season series by a hefty margin but the Knicks eked out a 108-105 victory in overtime to take the early series lead. Road teams have dominated the early portions of the second round, as a host has yet to win any of the five games staged to date.

That still wasn't enough to appease Knick critics, many of whom were quick to point out that the Celtics likely won't miss an NBA-record 45 three-point attempts like they did in Game 1. The Knicks will likely make a more convincing championship case if they get off to a better start, as they were down by 16 at halftime before falling behind by the fateful 20.

Even with the Game 1 win and Boston dealing with some lingering ailments, the odds are still somewhat stacked against the Knicks: Boston has not lost consecutive games since the end of February and have not fallen behind by two games in a playoff series since the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals against Miami.

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