Karl-Anthony Towns is waiting for his renowned shooting stroke to surface with his new team, but that didn’t stop the center from stuffing the box score in an impressive preseason outing.
Towns, making his home Knicks debut and acknowledging pressure is raised at MSG, hit just 1 of his 7 3-point attempts in Wednesday’s demolition of the Wizards, 117-94, including an airballed 3-pointer that prompted brief groans from the crowd.
But that fan angst turned into an ovation when Towns was subbed out for the final time in the fourth quarter, having finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds despite the wayward jumper.
The center got to the foul line — knocking down 10 of 11 from there — and flashed his playmaking with a post-up hook shot, a backdoor pass to Jalen Brunson and an assortment of other moves with the ball.
“There’s going to be tough nights when I’m not shooting well, especially at the Garden,” Towns said. “Obviously the pressure’s different. Show mental toughness to my teammates and the fans even when things are not going well, I’ll pick it up on either on the defensive end, or just find the groove sooner rather than later in the game. For me it’s just stay mentally tough, continue to fight through the adversity and hit some shots when we needed to garner the lead. I’m just happy that a game like this was able to teach me a little bit.”
Towns, who played 28 minutes, was the Knicks’ best player in the third quarter, when the home squad secured the romp win with a 19-9 run.
“He started off maybe pressing a little bit, first time here,” Tom Thibodeau said. “I like the looks that he got. Just be patient. At the end of the day, it’ll work itself out. And it did. He stayed with it. He was not deterred. I thought he went to a little more playmaking and that led to more easy baskets. … He got going to the basket. He got to the line. He got a couple layups. He’s a very gifted scorer. He can score a lot of different ways. He can score at the 3-point line. He can score off the bounce. He can score back to the basket. So if one area’s not going, go back to the playmaking. That opens the floor up for everybody.”
Patrick Ewing wasn’t at Wednesday’s preseason opener as an official member of the Knicks again, but Thibodeau outlined the job description of the newly formed role of “Basketball Ambassador.”
“It’ll be invaluable to us from being involved with me, giving his thoughts; he’ll be here at times and other times he’ll be remote, watching the games and giving feedback,” Thibodeau said. “Also working with team president Leon [Rose] in the front office and [executive William] Wesley, I think he can help from that perspective as well.
“And I think the fact that obviously being a Hall of Fame player, one of the all-time great Knicks, the perspective of a former player, talking to our players, and understanding New York having gone through everything here. His career speaks for itself, obviously. Every year he was here and healthy, you felt you had a chance to win it.”
Brunson, the newly crowned team captain, replaced Julius Randle as the last Knicks player announced in the starting lineup for home games.
“No. 11, Jalen Brunson,” bellowed the announcer.
The lineup order went as follows: Towns, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Brunson.
In another status sign, Hart’s locker moved to Randle’s longtime spot, Bridges took over Hart’s old spot, and Towns went to Donte DiVincenzo’s former locker (which used to be the prime spot occupied by Carmelo Anthony).
Mitchell Robinson, who is out indefinitely with an injury related to his multiple foot/ankle surgeries, is “just doing rehab stuff,” Thibodeau said when asked if the center has been on the court.
Robinson did not travel with the Knicks to training camp in Charleston, S.C., instead remaining near the practice facility in Westchester. A source said Robinson could return in December or January but noted the situation is fluid.
Robinson was not on the Knicks’ bench to start Wednesday’s preseason game.
