Karl-Anthony Towns shooting slump after injury hasnt hurt Knicks yet

The Knicks have been rolling with five consecutive wins, even with a downturn in production from 3-point range by All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns over that span. Towns had been shooting a career-best 44.9 percent from long distance through Jan.13 before sitting out two games with a sprain and bone chip in his right thumb. Towns still leads all Knicks regulars at 42.4 percent, but he has missed 15 of his last 18 attempts from beyond the arc during the winning streak entering Saturday night’s home game against the Lakers, including an 0-for-4 showing in Wednesday’s win over the Nuggets. Kevin McCullar Jr., the Knicks’ second-round pick (56th overall) out of Kansas, made his professional debut Thursday night for G League Westchester following a collegiate knee injury.

The 6-foot-6 forward scored 10 points on 4-for-9 shooting in 16 minutes in a loss to the Osceola Magic. “Man, after a long year, it felt good to be back out there competing!” the 23-year-old McCullar posted on X.“God is so good.” Anthony Davis (abdominal strain) and Christian Wood (knee) are out for the Lakers.

Dorian Finney-Smith (shoulder) and Gabe Vincent (knee) are questionable, while LeBron James (knee) and Rui Hachimura (calf) are probable.Josh Hart (right knee soreness) is listed as questionable again for the Knicks.Seldom-used rookie Pacome Dadiet is out with a sprained toe. The Knicks’ bench has provided a nice lift during the team’s winning streak. Miles McBride has netted 26 points over the past two games, with Precious Achiuwa totaling 22 and Cam Payne 18 in the wins earlier this week over the Grizzlies and the Nuggets. Landry Shamet also has been a part of a nine-man rotation in all five games, notching a season-high nine points last Saturday against the Kings....