Towns is laser-focused on the playoffs.
The New York Knicks walked off the Madison Square Garden floor Thursday night with a 112-106 win over the Boston Celtics, and Karl-Anthony Towns had a message that went well beyond the final score.
New York improved to 52-28 on the season while Boston dropped to 54-26, and for a team that got bounced in the Eastern Conference Finals last year, this felt like a step toward something bigger.
Towns Sends a Message
"I told you all about the word 'history.' I'm not here to repeat it, we're here to make it," Towns said postgame. "If I learned anything, especially last year: as quickly as you win two games, it's as quickly as you lose two games. Bank on my experience and execute at a high level."
That is a man who has been through enough playoff heartbreak to understand how fragile momentum can be.
Towns finished with 16 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two steals on the night, doing a little bit of everything as the Knicks pulled away in the fourth quarter.
He is averaging 20.1 points and 11.9 rebounds per game this season, and his presence on both ends has given New York something they didn't always have in years past.
But the real story Thursday night was what happened in the final minute.
Josh Hart buried two three-pointers in the last 42 seconds to put Boston away, finishing with a team-high 26 points while scoring 15 of them in the fourth quarter alone.
Hart shot 10-of-15 from the field, including 5-of-7 from deep, and Towns couldn't stop smiling about it postgame.
Brunson and Towns Raising Their Games
What makes this Knicks team feel different heading into the postseason is the way Jalen Brunson and Towns have elevated their play recently.
Brunson had 25 points and 10 assists against the Celtics, his second straight double-double after dropping 30 and 13 on the Hawks earlier in the week.
He is putting up 26.3 points and 6.6 assists per game this season and has looked like one of the best closers in basketball over this stretch, especially with the way he and Towns have fed off each other down the stretch of the regular season.
The Celtics were without Jaylen Brown due to Achilles tendinitis, but Jayson Tatum was back at the Garden for the first time since rupturing his Achilles there in last year's playoffs.
Tatum finished with 24 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, and Boston competed for most of the night before Hart's heroics sealed things.
Payton Pritchard added 23 off the bench, but New York's defense tightened up when it mattered.
The Knicks now own the tiebreaker over Boston after winning the season series 3-1, and they sit just two games back with two remaining.
Towns is not interested in celebrating too early, and his postgame words reflected a player who has seen how fast things can unravel in the postseason.
New York finishes the regular season against Toronto and Charlotte, and if Towns has his way, the real work is just getting started.