SAN FRANCISCO — The nice guy won more battles, but the bully won the game.
Facing callous Draymond Green, Karl-Anthony Towns produced a game-high 29 points with a game-high 12 rebounds before fouling out with 6.1 seconds remaining.
But the center, along with his Knicks teammates, faltered down the stretch and allowed Green the final taunt Saturday night in the Warriors’ 97-94 victory.
The Knicks (42-24) tied the score on Mikal Bridges’ pull-up jumper with 2:45 remaining, then succumbed to a backbreaking 8-1 run that included a turnover and missed trey from Towns.
Miles McBride, who otherwise did a solid job defending Steph Curry (28 points, 8-of-20 shooting), also committed a costly turnover.
Green then hit the dagger — a layup with 25 seconds left that gave the Warriors a six-point lead.
He then skipped down the court with his hands on the side of his face, the “night, night” gesture made famous by Steph Curry in the Olympics.
Karl-Anthony Towns looks to make a move on Draymond Green during the Knicks’ 97-94 loss to the Cavaliers on March 15, 2025. Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images
Afterward, Green said he enjoyed facing a motivated Towns.
“It was good to see KAT show up and play like that. Physical. Probably the most physical I’ve seen him play,” Green said.
The backdrop was a reckless comment from Green, who spread a rumor on his podcast that Towns missed a game against the Warriors this month at MSG because he was ducking longtime nemesis Jimmy Butler.
Green figured Towns was faking an injury, although he acknowledged he “didn’t look that deep into it to figure out what his injury was.” In reality, Towns left New York to attend the funeral of a close family friend who died after a long battle with breast cancer.
In the aftermath, Green, who has tried to bully Towns for years, was unapologetic and plugged his podcast. Towns offered, “I choose to approach that with love, not hate.”
Stephen Curry shoots over OG Anunoby during the Knicks’ loss to the Warriors on March 15, 2025. NBAE via Getty Images
Appropriately, Green lined up as the primary defender on Towns for most of the evening. And it started exquisitely for the Knicks center. In the game’s first possession, Towns blew past Green on a pump fake for a dunk.
“Hell yeah, [I wanted to set the tone]. You want to help your team win,” Towns said. “So wanted to bring that energy to the team, especially early in the game. Just was trying to do that to impact winning.”
Within six minutes, Towns had 11 points and five rebounds. It felt personal.
Karl-Anthony Towns goes up for a dunk during the Knicks’ loss to the Warriors. NBAE via Getty Images
But the adrenaline also backfired. Towns succumbed to early foul trouble. And with 8:08 left in the second quarter, tensions spilled over.
Towns and Green locked up on the perimeter, with the Knicks center getting whistled for a loose-ball foul. It already was the third infraction on Towns, which prompted Green to point to the Knicks bench and say, “Get him off.”
Towns walked to Green, and the two were separated after a brief face-to-face yelling session.
Mikal Bridges goes up for a floater during the Knicks’ loss to the Warriors. Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images
That was the end of Towns’ first half.
“I like battles,” Green said. “I’ve never seen him willing to talk. So I enjoyed that. That was fun. He had a really good game.”
Tom Thibodeau said he debated leaving Towns in the game but was too concerned about the potential fourth foul.
A frustrated Draymond Green gestures during the Knicks’ loss to the Warriors. AP
Karl-Anthony Towns looks to make a move on Draymond Green during the Knicks’ 97-94 loss to the Warriors on March 15, 2025. AP
“Once you get three, the way we were matching up with them, I didn’t him to get that fourth one,” the coach said. “Because I knew we needed his offense, and so sometimes you roll the dice on that.”
KAT picked up where he left off after the break. In roughly the opening two minutes of the third quarter, he buried a deep 3-pointer on Butler and a lefty hook over Green. The Knicks even survived the dreaded third quarter against the Warriors, entering the final period with just a 75-72 deficit.
That set up the Knicks’ disappointing finish to a long road trip that included Jalen Brunson’s sprained ankle.
OG Anunoby looks to make a move during the Knicks’ loss to the Warriors. Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images
“We’re learning,” Thibodeau said. “As I said when Jalen went down, you’re not replacing Jalen individually. We have to do it collectively.”
