Karl-Anthony Towns' finger injury gets no sympathy from Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau after crushing Game 3 defeat to Celtics

Disaster struck Karl-Anthony Towns and the New York Knicks in Saturday's contest against the Boston Celtics. New York struggled on both ends of the floor from start to finish, losing the game 93-115. Additionally, Towns also appeared to injure his hand after outrebounding Luke Kornet.

Immediately after he secured the rebound and passed the ball, he could be seen pointing to his hand, saying that it might be broken.

Expand Tweet

Coach Tom Thibodeau was asked about Towns' apparent hand injury in the postgame press conference, and he gave a rather cold answer. According to Thibodeau, a heightened level of physicality is to be expected in the postseason. Furthermore, he implied that players should power through pain in the playoffs.

Explore the NBA Draft 2024 with our free NBA Mock Draft Simulator & be the GM of your favorite NBA team.

"It's the playoffs and people are gonna get hit," Thibs said. "You've got to play through things and that's why you do it the entire season. No one's playing 100%, but you have to understand that to play well when you're feeling less than your best, that's all part of it. Mental toughness in the playoffs is huge."

Expand Tweet

Karl-Anthony Towns' status for Game 4, which will take place on Monday, is yet to be revealed at the time of writing.

Also read: Karl-Anthony Towns' girlfriend Jordyn Woods gets emotional recalling her long way back from downward spiral

Karl-Anthony Towns failed to make an impact offensively in the second half while playing through pain

The Boston Celtics hit the ground running in Game 3, and they never looked back. They never trailed throughout the game. During the third quarter, their lead had grown to as much as 31.

Boston successfully staved off a comeback this time, and offensive struggles from Karl-Anthony Towns in the second half helped them accomplish that. The New York Knicks center hit only five field goals out of 18 attempts, with all of his makes coming in the first two quarters.

He went 0-7 in the second half, but he was not held scoreless. He went to the charity stripe eight times and converted all of his attempts, finishing the game with 21 points.

Towns also grabbed 15 total rebounds, nine being in the second half. His 15 boards were the highest in the game, and he was the only player to have double figures in rebounds. Still, it was not enough to help the Knicks to a third straight comeback victory.

Jalen Brunson led the Knicks in scoring with 27 while Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart scored 12 and 10, respectively.

About the author

Miguel is a basketball writer at Sportskeeda with an overall experience of 7 years. A lover of the sport owing to its mental aspect, he has played it throughout high school and college as a power forward and small forward, and has also coached high school and college basketball teams. These experiences have given him a unique perspective on the game, which translates into insightful content.

For Miguel, the San Antonio Spurs, especially during the Tim Duncan era, were the embodiment of team basketball. He respects Gregg Popovich's empathy toward his players and his understanding of the game. The Spurs' titles, Kobe Bryant's poignant "Dear Basketball" tribute, Derrick Rose's remarkable 50-point game with Minnesota and Magic Johnson's remarkable comeback are among Miguel's top basketball moments.

For his articles, he conducts thorough research, cross verifies information with at least three sources, and sometimes sacrifices speed for accuracy. Content simplification and maintaining a neutral view on topics are his strengths.

Miguel follows other sports, particularly the NFL, and when not working he enjoys hobbies like cooking and playing video games.

Know More

New York Knicks Fan? Check out the latest Knicks depth chart, schedule, and roster updates all in one place.

Edited by Alvin Amansec