‘Inexcusable’: $76m star’s vanishing act in NBA Playoffs

An NBA superstar has come under heavy fire after going missing when his team needed him the most in a crucial contest on Tuesday.

The Detroit Pistons are leaving New York with their first round NBA playoff series tied up at 1-1.

After losing the opening match, the Pistons bounced back on Tuesday to level things up after securing the 100-94 victory.

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The Knicks rallied late in the contest to level the scores up at 94-94 with a little over a minute to play, but it wasn’t to be in front of their home fans.

Attention quickly turned to the lacklustre showing from Knicks big man Karl-Anthony Towns who finished the contest with a lowly 10 points and six rebounds.

Towns joined the Knicks ahead of the 2024/25 season in a move that thrust the team into NBA title contention, but when he was needed most ... he was nowhere to be found.

The star forward, on a $76m contract, knocked down 5-11 of his shots but most notably only took three shot attempts in the second half ... missing all three.

Even more damning for the Knicks and their big man, Towns did not attempt a single shot in the fourth quarter despite playing all 12 minutes.

KAT went missing down the stretch. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

After the loss, Towns spoke about his lack of involvement in the contest by stating he was simply executing what was unfolding in front of him.

“Just trying to have the game do what it does, just executing what we talked about,” Towns said.

“I thought we got some great shots, some great looks, you live with those kinds of great shots and great looks, especially when you’ve fought back in the game.”

Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau appeared less fazed by Towns’ Houdini impersonation, saying he was making the right plays.

“(Towns) was getting touches, but he’s making the right play,” Thibodeau said.

“If he’s getting double-teamed, I don’t want him just shooting the ball over three people. That makes no sense to me.”

Towns failed to have an impact on the contest. Al Bello/Getty Images/AFP

The disappearing act however from Towns didn’t go unnoticed by NBA fans who quickly called out the star with many also pointing the finger at the Knicks for failing to utilise him.

The Ringer’s Zach Lowe wrote on X: “NYK has got to find some ways to unlock KAT. After guarding KAT with Duren in every regular-season matchup, DET flipped match-ups and the Knicks are still digesting it.”

NBA journalist Kevin O’Conner wrote: “It’s baffling how little the Knicks use KAT. You have this 7-foot versatile offensive talent that can shoot, drive, pass, post. Yet you barely utilize him tonight. Didn’t score the entire second half. Thibs’ offense has zero imagination but Towns also needs to be more assertive.”

Tommy Beer wrote: “Inexplicable/inexcusable that a $50 million all-NBA offensive force and arguably the greatest shooting big man of all time doesn’t get a single shot attempt over the final 18 minutes of the most important game of the season.”

The first round series will now head to Detroi with Game 3 set to take place on Friday from 9am (AEST).

The Pistons put the clamps on. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

CLIPPERS LEVEL SERIES AGAINST NUGGETS

The Los Angeles Clippers also bounced back from a game-one defeat, beating the Nuggets 105-102 in Denver behind a brilliant 39-point performance from Kawhi Leonard.

Leonard made 15 of his 19 shot attempts and the Clippers withstood NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic’s triple-double of 26 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists to level their Western Conference series at 1-1.

Leonard set the tone early, making nine of his 10 shots in the first half and sending the Clippers into halftime up 55-52 with a buzzer-beating three-pointer.

In a game that featured 18 lead changes, the Nuggets tied it at 100-100 with 2:07 to play on a three-pointer by Murray.

But Norman Powell came up with a steal and drained a three-pointer and Leonard made a jump shot to put the Clippers up 105-102. Leonard stole a Jokic pass with 37.3 seconds left and Los Angeles held on as Christian Braun and Jokic missed in the waning seconds.

“I just kept going and stayed in the zone,” Leonard said.

“I didn’t worry about what shots were making or missing. I just kept shooting.”

- with AFP

Originally published as ‘Inexcusable’: $76m star’s vanishing act in NBA Playoffs