Mike Brown Stresses Importance of Getting KAT More Involved After Knicks Lose Game 3 to Spurs

Head coach Mike Brown knows the New York Knicks will likely need Karl-Anthony Towns to help carry the offense if they are going to parlay their 2-1 advantage over the San Antonio Spurs in the 2026 NBA Finals into a championship.

"It's extremely important that he's getting touches, that he's involved, not just in the fourth quarter but obviously throughout the ballgame," Brown told reporters Tuesday. "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 has not scored in the fourth quarter of any of the three NBA Finals games to this point.

While Jalen Brunson and a costly turnover by Victor Wembanyama helped bail the Knicks out in crunch time during the first two contests in San Antonio, Towns' lack of scoring proved to be an issue during New York's 115-111 loss in Monday's Game 3.

The Knicks managed just 20 points in the fourth quarter after pouring in 42 during the second quarter.

Spurs-Knicks Highlights

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Much of the credit goes to San Antonio's stifling defense, which left New York frustrated when the game was on the line. Still, the home team likely would have had a better chance to seize a commanding 3-0 advantage had Towns been more aggressive.

In all, he scored 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting from the field in the Game 3 loss after scoring 18 points in Game 1 and 21 points in Game 2. He also grabbed double-digit rebounds in each of New York's two wins and managed eight in the loss.

Ultimately, the Knicks' offense often runs through Brunson. The guard attempted 25 shots in Monday's loss, while OG Anunoby was second on the team with 13 field-goal attempts. It was more of the same after Brunson attempted 31 shots in Game 1 and 25 shots in Game 2.

When Brunson is playing at his best, him shooting more than twice as much as the majority of his teammates isn't much of an issue. However, he is shooting just 37 percent from the field and 31.8 percent from deep in the NBA Finals against the Spurs.

San Antonio is making it a point to swarm Brunson whenever the game is on the line, so it may be up to Towns to help fill the scoring void in Wednesday's Game 4.