Towns and the Knicks are rolling into the playoffs.
The New York Knicks are rolling at the right time, and Karl-Anthony Towns knows it. After Friday night's 112-95 win over the Toronto Raptors at Madison Square Garden, the big man sounded comfortable with where this team sits as the regular season winds down.
"For us to be in this position, feeling the way we feel and executing the way we are, it's a huge benefit for us," Towns said. "It definitely helps us feel good and the fans and everyone feel good when we step into that next part of the season."
Towns and Brunson Set the Tone Early
It was another efficient night for the Knicks' two best players. Towns finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds on 8-for-12 shooting, adding another double-double in a season where he is averaging 20.1 points and 11.9 rebounds per game.
Jalen Brunson led all scorers with 29 points on 12-for-18 from the field while averaging 26.0 points and 6.8 assists this year.
New York outscored Toronto 29-15 in the second quarter to blow the game open and never really let the Raptors back in.
Brunson pushed the lead to 18 in the third quarter with a fadeaway and a three-pointer on back-to-back possessions, and from there Toronto had no answer.
The Knicks outscored the Raptors 58-48 in the paint, which has been a theme all season in this matchup.
Five Straight Wins and a Locked-In Seed
The win pushed New York to 53-28 on the season and clinched the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference while extending their winning streak to five games.
It was also the 13th consecutive victory over the Raptors, a streak dating back to January 2023, and the Knicks won all five meetings against Toronto this season including one in the NBA Cup tournament.
What makes this stretch so important is the timing of it all.
Just a few weeks ago there were real questions about whether this team could find consistency after a rough patch earlier in the year, but now they look like a group that is peaking at exactly the right moment heading into the postseason.
A Likely First-Round Preview
Toronto dropped to 45-36 with the loss and currently sits as the sixth seed in the East, which means there is a very real chance that the Knicks and Raptors will see each other again in the first round.
Given how New York has dominated this matchup all year long and the supporting cast around Brunson and Towns continues to play well on both ends, that would be a favorable draw for the Knicks if the seedings hold heading into the postseason.
Towns is not getting ahead of himself, but his words after Friday night's game tell you everything about the confidence inside that locker room right now.
This team believes it is ready for what comes next.