Karl-Anthony Towns’ box score might’ve read soft, but Mike Brown wasn’t buying that narrative. 8 points and 1 assist, yet somehow he was the spark that got the Knicks rolling, at least according to head coach Mike Brown, who wasn’t shy about it. After the Knicks’ 121–111 loss to the Bucks, Brown doubled down on Towns’ importance, calling him the key that got New York going early.

“KAT’s first couple of plays… he started the dominance,” Brown said post-game. “He caught that thing and made a quick decision. Sprayed the ball. Got guys wide open looks.” If you didn’t watch the first half closely, you might’ve missed it. But by the time the Bucks tightened their defense, the flow faded, and so did Towns’ touches. Brown wasn’t happy about that. “

Sometimes it doesn’t show up in your field goal attempts when you play a remarkable game,” he explained, emphasizing the energy and flow Towns created by moving the ball. “He had one field goal attempt because that’s the way they played it… When he touched it, he threw a two and kicked it. It’s the energy that the ball brings to the game.” Still, the head coach made one demand clear.

Coach Brown wants more pace from Towns. “KAT has got to figure out how to play with a little bit of pace… so now he can catch, and he can make quick decisions for basketball,” Brown added. He’s been pushing Towns to be the hub, not just the hammer. That’s a big shift for a player who’s spent much of his career being the go-to scorer. Towns, to his credit, didn’t duck accountability either.

“I gotta do whatever is needed to win,” he said. “I pressed a little bit too much today [in the second half]… That’s on me, and I take full responsibility for that.” And if anything, this back-and-forth revealed something deeper.

Mike Brown and Karl-Anthony Towns are still figuring each other out. The Knicks’ decision to replace Tom Thibodeau with Brown wasn’t just a coaching change. Gone are the grind-it-out Thibs sets. In its place came a motion-heavy, quick-thinking offense where the ball decides the pecking order.

And that means sometimes even an All-Star’s stat line takes a backseat. This version of the New York Knicks is still learning how to share the stage.

How Karl-Anthony Towns’ pace could help the Knicks

Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and Towns are four players capable of leading a team on any night. Brown believes Towns is the connector, the one who “starts the dominance” without dominating the ball.

“We want the ball to move,” Brown said. “We want the force to face the right way… and I promise you, if we do the things we’re talking about offensively, KAT’s going to be mortified. But whatever comes his way that night, whatever comes Jalen’s way, whatever comes OG’s way, you just gotta embrace it.”

It’s coach speak that doubles as a message that everyone eats when the pace is right. Brown even got more detailed about it. “He doesn’t have to be Ariel or Mitch or anything like that. A little bit of pace within what we do. So now he can catch, and he can make quick decisions for basketball.”

For Towns, his reputation has long been tethered to his ability to put up numbers. 24.4 points per game last season, plus 12.8 rebounds. But under Brown’s system, he’s being asked to redefine what impact looks like. That might not be a bad thing.

Towns is still managing a Grade 2 quad strain. He’s navigating a new system. And he’s hearing his name in trade conversations every other week, with rumors linking him to possible Giannis Antetokounmpo talks that haven’t exactly quieted. Yet through all that, he’s showing up, making the right reads, and doing what Brown calls playing the “right way.”

It’s early, but the Brown–Towns partnership is already looking interesting. One’s a coach obsessed with precision, the other’s a player trying to prove he can win his way by adapting, not overpowering.

The Knicks are betting that somewhere in the middle, there’s a version of Karl-Anthony Towns that not only fills a role but redefines it. And if that version ever fully arrives, New York might finally have found its balance between flash and function.