Mike Brown wanted Karl-Anthony Towns to deal with Paul Reed. The Knicks center responded with the kind of second half his team badly needed.
Towns finished with 27 points and 20 rebounds in Tuesday's 111-97 victory over Detroit, New York's first win after an 0-3 start. Brown credited a change in Towns' approach after challenging him about Reed's work on the glass and in the paint, SNY's Julia Yohe reported .
That's the part I'd want the Knicks to carry forward. Towns can score in a lot of ways, but his willingness to compete for position and finish possessions defensively can determine how much freedom everyone else has.
New York fell behind by 13 in the first half. Towns scored 16 of his points after halftime, and Detroit managed only 13 points in the third quarter. His NBA box score shows eight offensive rebounds among his 20 total, along with three assists.
There is a catch in the same box score: seven turnovers and five fouls. The Knicks shouldn't ignore those just because the final score looked comfortable. Cleaner decisions will matter when the next opponent sends help or the game stays tight into the fourth quarter.
October 27 Detroit game archive. Oct 27, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) looks to pass the ball against Detroit Pistons forward Paul Reed (7) during the first quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Detroit was also without center Jalen Duren. Reed still made Towns work, but this result doesn't prove New York has solved every frontcourt matchup it will face.
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Brown can keep asking Towns to play with that edge while using bench minutes and other scorers to avoid running him into foul trouble. The next opponent may attack the matchup differently; the response has to travel beyond one night at Madison Square Garden.
The win is an important reset, not an excuse to dismiss the opening week. Towns showed the level New York can reach when he combines production with that physical work. Now the Knicks need to see it more often and with fewer wasted possessions.
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