NEW YORK (AP) — Karl-Anthony Towns had a bandage over his right eye covering the stitches he needed to close a cut that sent blood streaming down his face and turned part of his white jersey red.
“That’s a battle scar,” teammate Mitchell Robinson said. “You’re fighting for your life out there.”
Towns looked bad, but the Denver Nuggets came out worse, losing two starters to injuries in the New York Knicks' 134-127 double-overtime victory on Wednesday night.
Forward Spencer Jones didn't play after the first quarter, when his head-to-head collision opened the cut over Towns' eye. Peyton Watson, the other forward, went out in the fourth quarter holding his right hamstring.
Jamal Murray, who led Denver with 39 points, said at some point he realized Jones hadn't returned but didn't even notice that Watson had left.
“In the game, I was kind of lost. I was like, where’s everybody at?” Murray said. “But like I said, it’s just next man up and we gave a great game.”
Coach David Adelman said Jones was being evaluated for a concussion and Watson would undergo an MRI. They have had to play larger roles with normal starting forwards Aaron Gordon and Cam Johnson sidelined.
It could have been worse for the Nuggets. Nikola Jokic, who just returned last week after missing 16 games with a left knee injury, fell to the court in the first quarter after appearing to step on a Knicks player’s foot while on defense — a play that somewhat resembled the one he was injured on in Miami on Dec. 29. The Nuggets called time and Jokic limped off the injury during the break, perhaps looking more frustrated than hurt, before staying in the game.
He said the pain this time was his ankle, not his knee, and was asked if it bothered him while playing 45 minutes, blowing well past his minutes restriction, and finishing with 30 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists.
“A little bit, but who cares?” Jokic said.
It was later in the first quarter when Towns tried to drive to the basket, banged heads with Jones and fell backward onto the court. He didn't initially realize how bad the injury was until he noticed the way the Nuggets' Tim Hardaway Jr. was looking at him.
Towns was treated before shooting the two free throws, which he needed to do to be able to return to the game. He made them, then left for stitches and a change of his bloody jersey.
He finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds as the Knicks extended their winning streak to eight games.
“We got to get the job done. It was a great team out there and it was a game that we all knew we wanted to keep the momentum going and there’s no better team to test our mettle against than the Denver Nuggets,” Towns said. “They know how to win a championship.”
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