Make New York Post a Preferred Source INDIANAPOLIS — Karl-Anthony Towns’ big chance bounced off the rim.
Off an inbounds play with a two-point deficit in the final seconds, the Knicks drew up a play for Towns at the elbow instead of Jalen Brunson, who was a decoy on the other side of the court. The center got a nice look but it fell short and the Knicks reign as NBA Cup champs is probably over with Friday night’s 106-104 defeat.
Technically, the Knicks aren’t eliminated with a 0-2 record in Adam Silver’s beloved tournament. It’s theoretically possible to win the group or a wild card with a 2-2 record. But in the NBA Cup’s three-year history, no team has advanced with anything less than a 3-1 mark in the group phase.
The Knicks are the lone squad in their five-team group without a win.
There’s still much more time to defend their bigger championship, but the Knicks (6-6) have hardly looked like the juggernaut of their magical run of May and June.
They missed 30 3-pointers in Indiana, the place of several Knicks heartbreaks over the last few years. Jalen Brunson dropped 33 points with 11 assists but Captain Clutch didn’t get the call for the final play.
Towns finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds, breaking a 56-year franchise record with his 12th double-double to start a season. He eclipsed Willis Reed’s mark from 1970.
Free-throw discrepancy was a storyline in the first half. The Knicks took just five free throws in the opening two quarters; the Pacers quadrupled that amount with 20.
Frustrations boiled over late in the second quarter, when Mike Brown berated a referee over a noncall. Brown was irate and picked up a technical foul. The Knicks trailed at the break, 58-49.
They then made an improbable comeback late in the fourth quarter — largely because Indiana was coughing up the lead — but Towns couldn’t tie it at the buzzer.
