Knicks Notes: Towns, Brunson, Robinson, Kolek

Big man Karl Anthony cities feels more and more comfortable with it Curtsywrites SNY.tv’s Ian Begley. Towns had one of his best games of the season in Friday’s blowout win over Milwaukee, scoring 32 points – including 27 in the first half – on 12 of 20 shooting, 11 rebounds and five assists in 32 minutes.

Towns played primarily at power forward for Minnesota the last two seasons, but he’s back at center for New York. According to Begley, he feels confident playing his natural position.

“I feel like I’m a better version of myselfsaid Towns. “I’m smarter, more experienced, and believe I’m more talented than ever. I want to use that every night for our team to lead to victories.”

Towns is a New Jersey native who grew up less than an hour’s drive from Manhattan. According to James L. Edwards III of The Athletic, playing so close to home was special. The 28-year-old also thanked his teammates for helping him adjust to a new team after spending his first nine NBA seasons in Minnesota.

“The guys in that locker room welcomed me with open arms and made me feel comfortablesaid Towns. “They want me to play my game. Of course there will be times when we have to find the cohesion because we’re not used to playing with each other yet, but I think, you know, we’re getting better every day and we’re working on ourselves day by day yourself and as a team.

“My teammates were a key part of the transition and the coaching staff did a great job, but it’s the guys in that locker room with the jerseys that made it (my game) very easy to implement.”

Learn more about the Knicks, who are currently 4-4, here:

• Although they easily beat the Bucks on Friday, star guard Jalen Brunson Say he’s still working on refining his game early in the season, writes Zach Braziller of the New York Post. “My mentality needs to get betterBrunson said. “I wasn’t happy with my performance individually, but we won. That’s all I care about and we’ll just go from there.”
• While Towns played very well on offense, grabbing 12.8 rebounds per game, he struggled to shut down opponents on defense, notes Newsday’s Steve Popper (subscriber link). Towns ranks dead last among players who take at least five shots per game at the rim (within six feet), with opposing players posting an impressive 84.5% hit rate on those attempts. Injured center Mitchell Robinson Popper added that he should help bolster the interior defense when he is ready to return from offseason ankle surgery, but that won’t be until December or January. Head coach Tom Thibodeau said the responsibility falls on the entire team to limit opponents’ attempts to attack, not just Towns, noting that this is still a work in progress.
• Rookie guard Tyler Kolek continues to receive praise from Thibodeau, according to Peter Botte of the New York Post. With veteran Cameron Payne Kolek was sidelined again with a hamstring injury and played the most playing time of his career on Friday against Milwaukee. He posted a career-high eight points (on 3-of-5 shooting), four rebounds and two assists. “He’s getting better every daysaid Thibodeau of the 34th overall pick. “He has a great feel for the game and is a real worker. He’s still learning the league and getting better by understanding what’s happening with the defense and also becoming more familiar with the people he’s guarding and the teams. I think you can see your confidence growing every time. We have a lot of trust in him and I see it every day. It usually starts with practice, and if you practice well, you usually play well.”