"He has versatility, toughness on both ends of the floor," Brown said. "He can [make plays] for himself and others. Gets us organized. "He had a really good game defensively [Friday] night for the most part, and then during the first stretch, he was really good offensively. In the second half, he wasn't as good. But he's a young guy and he's going to learn and grow from any minutes that he gets."
The Knicks were expected to be better than the Celtics, and they are. The Celtics lost a lot of stellar defensive players, most notably Jrue Holiday, and they paid the price against Jalen Brunson, whose 31 points and five assists looked a little easier than they did last year during the regular season. Karl-Anthony Towns, meanwhile, feasted against a Celtics team that looks clumsy at times defensively and downright abysmal on the defensive glass.
NEW YORK -- Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns revealed he is dealing with a Grade 2 quad strain, which led to his "will he or won't he" status in the hours leading up to Wednesday night's season-opening 119-111 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers at Madison Square Garden. Shortly before gametime, Towns declared himself fit to play, then scored 19 points and 12 rebounds in 31 minutes in a matchup between the two favorites in the Eastern Conference.
"Still the same," Knicks coach Mike Brown told reporters after practice on Tuesday. "Neither one practiced today, but we're going to keep monitoring them, and I'll get with the medical staff and we'll see what we're going to do."
The NBA is set to start the 2025-26 season tonight with a pair of primetime Western Conference battles featuring the Oklahoma City Thunder hosting the Houston Rockets, before the Golden State Warriors battle the Los Angeles Lakers in the late-night window. Fans are expected to flock back to Madison Square Garden tomorrow night as the New York Knicks host the Cleveland Cavaliers at 7 p.m. ET to begin the 2025-26 NBA season.
The Knicks suited up for their fifth and final test of the preseason Friday night, facing the Hornets at Madison Square Garden. Or at least some of them did. While Mike Brown had talked about using this last game as a dress rehearsal for Wednesday's regular-season opener against the Cavaliers, he again was juggling a roster that was missing key pieces.
The 2025 NBA Season is right around the corner, and one of the most-anticipated annual drops, the 2025 Statement Edition Jerseys, are finally here. You can get New York Knicks Statement Edition jerseys for Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and more of your favorite players right now on Fanatics, before they start selling out. Here's what's available and how you can get them shipped before the Knicks season opener on Wednesday, October 22.
Tim MacMahonOct 14, 2025, 06:01 PM ET Close Joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009 Covers the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas Mavericks Appears regularly on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM Coach Jason Kidd has signed a multiyear contract extension with the Dallas Mavericks, a source confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday. The extension comes in the wake of strong interest in Kidd from the New York Knicks before they hired Mike Brown to fill their coaching vacancy.
The New York Knicks and Toronto Raptors agreed to voluntarily dismiss a 2023 lawsuit involving the alleged theft of thousands of confidential files, according to a court filing Friday that was obtained by ESPN. Spokespersons representing the teams issued the same statement to ESPN: "The Knicks and (Raptors owner Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment) withdrew their respective claims and the matter is resolved. The Parties are focused on the future."
This week's show was recorded in Chicago with host Peter Sagal, judge and scorekeeper Bill Kurtis, Not My Job guest Cynthia Nixon and panelists Negin Farsad, KC Shornima, and Adam Burke. Click the audio link above to hear the whole show. Who's Bill This Time Shoulda Taken The Stairs; The Great White Way Fades; Left Behind Panel Questions Who's A Good Witness?! Bluff The Listener
The modern NBA is about spacing. Perhaps once upon a time it was about strength and size and moxie, but the name of the game in this century is spacing. How are you using the vertical space, the horizontal space? How do you open up space on the perimeter for shooters to get open, space in the paint for cutters and drivers to score, space around playmakers for them to dime up teammates in the right spot to score?
Thomas Bryant's wait for another team will have to continue as the NBA season approaches quickly. The Indiana product has been quite the journeyman throughout the start of his professional career and while being a journeyman isn't the worst case scenario, the constant lack of security to stick on a roster is a feeling that no player in the league wants to deal with.