Knicks' Karl-Anthony Towns Sends Blunt Message After Celtics Loss

It was far from a pretty showing for the New York Knicks on Saturday night as they fell to the Boston Celtics in a brutal 104-131 defeat at Madison Square Garden, dropping New York to a 34-18 record on the regular season.

In the end, it was a dominant showing from the Celtics, and especially Jayson Tatum –– who finished with a 40-point performance with six rebounds and four assists. The Knicks were outscored in quarters one through four eventually leading to the 20-plus point loss and an 0-2 record vs. Boston on the season.

Following Saturday's game, Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns sounded off on the Knicks' double-digit loss, conveying that the team has "a lot of work to do."

"We've got a lot of work to do, simple as that," Towns said. "There's no sugar coating. There's no moral wins. This is something we've got to work on... we've got to find a way to beat teams like tonight. That's a team that is in the race. They want to be in the race as much as we do to win a championship. And for them, it's another one; a back-to-back... They test your discipline, and that's something we've got to work on –– our discipline for 48."

"We've got a lot of work to do, simple as that. There's no sugar coating, there's no moral wins, this is something we've got to work on... we've got to find a way to beat teams like tonight."

Karl-Anthony Towns on how the Knicks move forward after tonight's loss: pic.twitter.com/UKPyUeJ73Z
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) February 9, 2025

Towns didn't have his best performance against the Celtics. He finished with nine points and nine rebounds on 3/8 shooting from the field in 28 minutes. A tough Boston defense made it tough for the All-Star to get things going –– leading to a quiet night.

The Celtics also did some extensive damage on the offensive end as well. Outside of Tatum's 40-point bomb, Boston shot 54.1% from the field, 48.7% from three-point range, and went 20/24 from the free throw line. They were clicking on both ends, and as a result, they took care of business against a struggling Knicks unit.

New York will have another shot against Boston right around the corner on Sunday, February 23rd in TD Garden with hopes to right the ship after an 0-2 start against this squad this season.

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