Knicks match-up with Pacers could come with Karl-Anthony Towns boon

It was just three games.Three regular-season games.But, oh, what a three games it was: 30.3 points, 12.0 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 46.7 percent from 3-point range in 36.5 minutes per contest.That’s how Karl-Anthony Towns performed against the Pacers this season.His NET rating was plus-10.5 (meaning the Knicks outscored Indiana by 10.5 points per 100 possessions with the court-spacing big man on the floor), and the Knicks won two of the three meetings.

The 7-footer clearly matches up well against the Pacers, a potential major factor in this upcoming series.Against the Celtics, he was frequently asked to defend All-Star wings Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum (before Tatum suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon injury in Game 4) on switches.But Towns will likely spend a lot of time guarding Myles Turner, a shotmaking big man similar to himself.

During the regular season, Turner posted solid numbers against Towns and the Knicks, averaging 19.5 points, 2.5 blocks and shooting 45.5 percent from 3 on 5.5 attempts.However, he did post a minus-7.9 NET rating.Towns’ postseason has been a mixed bag after a terrific regular season.

He’s averaging 19.8 points, 11.3 rebounds and 0.9 blocks.He’s only shooting 34.1 percent on 3.7 attempts from distance, both well down from the regular season, when he shot a blistering 42 percent on 4.7 tries.But Towns was a major part of the Knicks closing out the upset of the Celtics with a big Game 6, producing 21 points and 12 rebounds.

He made only 1-of-6 3-point attempts, but the shots were there, which the Knicks had talked about needing to create throughout the series.Sports+ subscribers: Sign up for Inside the Knicks to get daily newsletter coverage and join Expert Take for insider texts about the series.Most importantly, Towns came out aggressive in that contest, attacking the basket and using his size, instead of settling for contested jump shots.It made a big difference after his Game 5 no-show.“That helps set the tone for t...