Karl-Anthony Towns giving Knicks a glimpse of whats to come

It didn’t take long for Karl-Anthony Towns to impact his regular-season debut at the Garden, for Towns — the preseason blockbuster acquisition — to elevate toward the rim, slam the ball through the net, hang on for an extra second and then let out a roar. This was the version of Towns, one of the NBA’s premier centers, the Knicks traded for.The one who patiently waited on the right block as a chaotic play unfolded in the opposite corner and converted his chance once the ball arrived.

The one who finished his second regular-season game as a Knick with 21 points, 15 rebounds, two blocks, a steal and 10 free-throw attempts.It was a “really good, all-around game” from Towns, head coach Tom Thibodeau said after the Knicks’ 123-98 victory over the Pacers on Friday night — with his dunk and ensuing celebration a thunderous layer of that performance. “I guess you could say that,” Towns said postgame when asked if felt the energy from the crowd immediately.

“I just always want to impose a lot of energy into the game and amplify my teammates, and I thought that was a good opportunity [with the dunk] to get some energy instilled to us — and the crowd obviously was bringing a lot of energy.” The limited two-game sample of the 2024-25 season has provided a fitting glimpse of what Towns added to the Knicks when they acquired him in a late September trade from the Timberwolves.It forced president Leon Rose to part with Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, though, and forced Thibodeau to tweak his starting lineup and rotations, which took — and will continue to take — time before clicking regularly. In the preseason, the Knicks preached the need for patience.

Their season-opening loss to the Celtics, when they allowed 29 3-pointers and couldn’t match that output offensively, provided the latest example of that.The Knicks couldn’t microwave chemistry, but they still had plenty of time to work with — an entire regular season worth of games i...