Unfortunately for Karl-Anthony Towns, his mind was elsewhere. This week, Towns had a close personal friend pass away of cancer and he had to take a leave of absence against the Golden State Warriors.

Karl-Anthony Towns is learning from one of the best — Patrick Ewing. “How dope is that s—? It’s dope as hell,” Towns said. “The blessing and the fact that I can say that I was on a bus with Patrick Ewing and going to games and we talk a bunch and to be around a legend like that.

The Knicks must also scheme Karl-Anthony Towns open with McBride handling the ball. The five-time All-Star needs to at least match his season average of 24.2 points per game in Brunson's stead. It'll help to stay out of foul trouble, as he scored just 12 points (3-of-13 FG, 1-of-6 3 PT) with five fouls against the Lakers.

While Karl-Anthony Towns had a big back-to-back in Los Angeles he faced off against the Lakers and Clippers, there was a much bigger issue looming in his mind.

Karl-Anthony Towns missed Tuesday's loss to Golden State after the death of Sarah Holtzman, who was close to the family and passed away this week.

Despite the sensitive nature of Towns' absence, Lakers fans accused him of continuing a trend pointed out by Luka Doncic on Sunday night — opposing stars making sure to play against LA's historic franchise. "Bro was resting for the Lakers," a fan on X claimed about Towns.

New York Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns is actually skipping the game this time. Towns declined to engage in Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green's verbal

The Knicks’ first game without Jalen Brunson went as expected: hard-fought until the end, where New York missed its captain and All-Star clutch performer.