During Saturday’s playoff matchup, the New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns appeared to suffer a left hand injury, with cameras capturing him saying, “I broke it,” in a moment aired on ABC and shared via Twitter, according to Bridget Reilly of The New York Post.
Despite the apparent injury, Towns stayed in the game, though he struggled offensively, shooting just 5-for-18 from the field in New York’s 22-point loss to the Boston Celtics.
Towns was reluctant to discuss the injury in detail when speaking to the media afterward.
When asked directly whether he had broken a finger, he responded vaguely: “It is what it is. I just want to do whatever I can to be out there. It is what it is. I’m gonna keep finding ways to play, so I ain’t tripping.”
Reilly points out that the incident occurred late in the second quarter when Towns collided with Celtics big man Luke Kornet while contesting a rebound. He later appeared to grimace in pain again during the third quarter after taking a foul from Jrue Holiday.
Although Towns finished the game with 21 points and 15 rebounds, his shooting woes continued, going 1-of-5 from beyond the arc. For the series, he’s now shooting just 14.3% from three-point range.
When pressed on whether he had undergone medical evaluation, Towns declined to provide specifics, saying, “I’ll let [the Knicks] tell you that.”
Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau was equally tight-lipped regarding Towns’ condition, as noted by Brian Robb of MassLive.
“It’s the playoffs,” Thibodeau said. “People are going to get hit and you have to play through things. That’s why you do it the entire season. No one is 100 percent. You have to understand that you can play well when you’re feeling less than your best, that’s all part of it. I think the mental toughness part of this in the playoffs is huge.”
Towns will have Sunday to recover before Game 4 resumes Monday night.
Karl-Anthony Towns Suffers Hand Injury In Game 3 Loss https://t.co/c9GFtEAqfd pic.twitter.com/HlpgHILRz0
— Hoops Rumors (@HoopsRumors) May 11, 2025
