On several occasions during the Knicks’ 124-119 loss to the Detroit Pistons on Monday night, Karl-Anthony Towns was seen grimacing and doubled over in apparent pain.
The source of discomfort was the center’s right thumb which got banged at least twice.
“Haven’t gotten word from medical yet,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said about the center in his postgame news conference.
Later, in the Knicks’ locker room, Towns was asked several times about the potential injury but passed over the opportunity to shed some light.
Did he get any kind of tests on it or have any idea of an injury diagnosis? “Ah, it is what it is,” Towns said, via a transcript by Newsday’s Steve Popper. “So that’s really it.”
This wasn’t something that kept you out of a game? “It is what it is,” he said, again.
A couple of shots missed to the side of the rim, how tough was it to grip the ball? “It is what it is, simple as that,” he responded.
Did he get any X-rays? “Like I said, it is what it is.”
The apparent injury never forced Towns out of the game, in which he scored 26 points on 7-for-17 from the floor (4-for-9 from three and 8-for-10 from the line) with 12 rebounds, three assists and a steal in 43 minutes. He was also responsible for six turnovers and committed five fouls and was a minus-4.
Towns appeared to sustain the thumb injury going up for a dunk in the first quarter’s final minute when his hand got whacked by Pistons’ big man Isaiah Stewart. On the play, in which a foul was called, Towns’ right hand appeared to get jammed into the bottom of the backboard.
He would knock down both free throws but was seen grimacing and holding his right thumb in his left hand. During the quarter break, he was still holding the thumb and rocking back and forth in his chair on the bench taking deep breaths.
In the second half, Towns had a black wrap on the right thumb. That protection didn’t help much as he appeared to aggravate the injury when he was hit by Tobias Harris.
The Detroit forward swiped down and made contact with his right hand while Towns was driving to the basket. He took several steps off the court and doubled over in pain several times in obvious discomfort.
The Knicks are back in action on Wednesday night in Philadelphia before they face Towns’ former team, the Minnesota Timberwolves, on Friday night at Madison Square Garden.
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