Mike Brown: 'Extremely important' to get Towns more touches - ESPN

NEW YORK — Something, or rather someone, has been missing in action in the fourth quarter of all three games in these NBA Finals, and that came back to bite the New York Knicks for the first time Monday night.

Karl-Anthony Towns was held scoreless for the third straight fourth quarter in Game 3, and the Knicks were finally punished for it with a loss to San Antonio. Towns' production was a catalyst for the 13-game playoff winning streak that got snapped in front of the Madison Square Garden crowd, but as had been the case during the regular season, he got lost late Monday.

It didn't matter as much in the first two games because of Jalen Brunson's heroics as well as the Knicks' collective defense, but neither showed up late in Game 3.

So it put Towns is back into focus.

«It's extremely important that he's getting touches, that he's involved, not just in the fourth quarter but obviously throughout the ballgame,» Knicks coach Mike Brown said Tuesday at practice. «I've got to continue trying to do a better job of getting him involved throughout the course of the game, as well as late.»

Towns was 0-for-4 in the fourth, including two 3-point attempts, so it wasn't as if he didn't get looks. But the Knicks' offense as a whole slowed down in a way that hasn't been the case since the first round against the Atlanta Hawks, when New York's wakeup call spurred this streak.

Towns finished Game 3 with 11 points, eight rebounds, three steals and two blocks in 38 minutes, taking 10 shots. For the series, he is averaging 16.7 points, 11 rebounds and three assists.

In the first half, the Knicks scored 23 points with zero turnovers on 14 plays when Towns had a frontcourt touch, according to ESPN research. The Knicks looked their best in