BBNBA: Karl-Anthony Towns hits BIG shots down the stretch as Knicks take 3-1 series lead

Karl-Anthony Towns has been unlocked in the playoffs. For the second straight game, he looked like a superstar. And for the second straight game, the New York Knicks came away with the win.

Towns went for 27 points and nine rebounds during the Knicks’ 94-93 Sunday night victory over the Detroit Pistons. It puts New York up 3-1 and just one more win away from advancing to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. But the Knicks couldn’t have pulled out the Game 4 dub without a couple of massive (and massively difficult) shots from KAT down the stretch.

The first shot was the more challenging of the two. With 90 seconds left in regulation and the Knicks down four, Towns backed down Jalen Duren into the post before turning over his right shoulder to shoot a fadeaway jumper that had to go over the backboard just to have a chance. Already standing several feet out of bounds by the time he landed, Towns’ shot dropped right in to make it a two-point deficit.

THAT'S A TUFF BASELINE SHOT KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS pic.twitter.com/dBxzDIvDvD

— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) April 27, 2025

But the second clutch shot was the one New York needed the most. With the score still a two-point advantage for the Pistons, Towns pumped faked a long three-pointer. Duren took the bait and jumped. KAT stepped in before taking an even wider step back for a 30-foot attempt from deep. Butter. Nothing but net. Knicks up by one with under 60 seconds to go.

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS CLUTCH THREE 😤

THAT MAN NICE! pic.twitter.com/jeL9On6HE8

— NBA TV (@NBATV) April 27, 2025

There was some foul controversy right before the final buzzer, though. Tim Hardaway Jr.’s triple drew contact from New York guard Josh Hart, but no foul was called. Afterward, head official David Gurthie noted that the referees made a mistake and a foul should have been called. But that doesn’t do the Pistons any good when the game is long over.

Did the pistons get robbed? No call on Tim Hardaway’s final shot of the game.

This is called a foul 99% of the time. #NYvsDET pic.twitter.com/LwwVLmBSdV

— Benchwarmer Sports (@bwsportsmemes) April 27, 2025

But back to KAT for a second. The Knicks are 3-0 in this series when he scores 23 or more points. He had 31 points and eight rebounds in New York’s Game 3 win a few days ago. It’s only been four games, but Towns is averaging playoff career-highs in points (22.8 PPG), three-point percentage (52.6), and steals (1.3 SPG) with a career-low in turnovers (1.3 TOPG).

He and the Knicks will look to close out the Pistons in Game 5 on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. ET (TNT) back in the Big Apple.

Randle, Wolves one win from advancing

Anthony Edwards is a bad, bad man for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Edwards went for 43 points and hit the game-deciding free throws with 10 seconds left after drawing a foul on LeBron James. Minny trailed by 12 points in the third quarter before rallying late to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-113 and take a 3-1 series lead. The Lakers played all five starters every single second of the second half, ultimately running out of gas in the closing minutes.

Those are the headlines from this one, but we’re here to talk about Julius Randle, who once again was highly productive for the Wolves. The veteran big man finished with 25 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and zero turnovers. On both ends of the floor, there’s an argument to be made that this is the best Randle has ever looked in the postseason. He’s posting per-game averages of 22.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 4.5 assists on shooting splits of 47.6/45.5/83.3 while matching up against LeBron on the other end of the floor.

Randle rocking Kentucky blue in post game press conference #BBN pic.twitter.com/EbL5GHq6Ea

— Adam Stratton (@AdamStrattonKSR) April 28, 2025

Randle and the Wolves will look to finish off the Lakers this week in Game 5. Tipoff in LA is scheduled for Wednesday night at 10:00 p.m. ET on TNT.

4/27/25 statistics

Player	Score	PTS	FG (3PT)	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	+/-	MIN
Karl-Anthony Towns (NYK)	94-93 W @ DET	27	10-23 (5-7)	9	1	0	1	3	5	40
Julius Randle (MIN)	116-113 W vs. LAL	25	9-22 (3-8)	7	3	1	0	0	8	42
Jarred Vanderbilt (LAL)	116-113 L @ MIN	0	0-0	2	0	0	0	0	-3	6
Chris Livingston (MIL)	129-103 L vs. IND	0	0-1 (0-1)	0	0	0	0	0	-5	3
Rob Dillingham (MIN)	116-113 W vs. LAL	DNP-Ankle	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Isaiah Jackson (IND)	129-103 W @ MIL	DNP-Achilles	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Tonight in the NBA Playoffs

Eastern Conference First Round | Game 4 | CLE leads 3-0
7:30 (TNT) | (1) Cavaliers @ (8) Heat (Adebayo, Herro)

Western Conference First Round | Game 4 | GSW leads 2-1
10:00 (TNT) | (2) Rockets (Sheppard) @ (7) Warriors