Karl-Anthony Towns sits for crucial stretch in Game 2 as Knicks dilemma is clear

Karl-Anthony Towns was sitting on a goose egg after a scoreless first quarter Friday night, but Mitchell Robinson’s highly active presence alongside him for a large chunk of the first half helped KAT freelance more offensively en route to 20 points over the final three quarters. Still, Towns sat out for nearly seven minutes in the fourth quarter, with Tom Thibodeau going with the defensive-minded Robinson on the court as the lone big man until the Pacers started intentionally hacking him before Towns checked in for the final 2:25 of the Knicks’ second straight home loss to open the Eastern Conference finals against the Pacers, 114-109 at the Garden. The Knicks were outscored by 20 points during Towns’ 27 minutes on the floor as their starting unit put the team in an early 10-point hole before Robinson and Miles McBride provided two-way energy off the bench and a 52-49 turnaround lead at intermission. Robinson played 16 consecutive minutes — several on the court with Towns — before coming out to a standing ovation with 1:42 left in the second quarter.He finished the game with six points, nine rebounds (four offensive) and three blocked shots in 29 minutes, his most playing time in this year’s playoffs. OG Anunoby had the opposite production in the first half, scoring all nine of his points through two quarters in the first, including a game-opening 3-pointer and a couple of dunks.

Sports+ subscribers: Sign up for Inside the Knicks to get daily newsletter coverage and join Expert Take for insider texts about the series.The first slam came after he picked off a pass from T.J.McConnell in the backcourt, and the second was an alley-oop feed from Jalen Brunson. Anunoby finished with 16 points as the Knicks fell to 2-6 in the playoffs when he does not score at least 20 points, compared to 6-0 when he reaches that figure. Like Towns in the first, Anunoby didn’t score again before intermission, but Towns found him for an inside hoop midway through the t...