Karl-Anthony Towns invisible in fourth quarter of Knicks Game 2 loss

Karl-Anthony Towns pulled a Houdini when the Knicks needed him the most.Towns, after a strong Game 1, disappeared late in the Knicks’ 100-94 Game 2 loss Monday night at Madison Square Garden, which evened the series at one apiece heading back to Detroit.He finished with just 10 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field and missed both of his 3-point attempts.Most notably, he did not attempt a single shot in the fourth quarter despite playing all 12 minutes.“Just trying to have the game do what it does, just executing what we talked about,” Towns said of his lack of involvement down the stretch.

“I thought we got some great shots, some great looks, you live with those kinds of great shots and great looks, especially when you’ve fought back in the game.”Towns was primarily guarded by Tobias Harris, a wing who Towns owns a size advantage against.But he was not aggressive at all in trying to bully Harris in the paint or trying to use his strength to slash to the rim.Harris got help as well.

The Pistons have had Jalen Duren, their center, match up with Josh Hart on defense through the first two games.Duren often camps in the paint, leaving Hart, a poor 3-point shooter, open outside the perimeter.

Hart has yet to make Duren and the Pistons really pay for that strategy.That has allowed Duren to protect the rim and help on either Towns or Jalen Brunson.“[Towns] was getting touches, but he’s making the right play,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said.“If he’s getting double-teamed, I don’t want him just shooting the ball over three people.

That makes no sense to me.”Sports+ subscribers: Sign up for Inside the Knicks to get daily newsletter coverage and join Expert Take for insider texts about the series.Towns was key to the Knicks’ 21-0 run and fourth-quarter comeback in Game 1, finishing with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting to go with 11 rebounds, five assists, four steals and two blocks.That non-scoring activity was absent Monday as well.Towns h...