SAN ANTONIO — In the midst of the most successful stretch of his 11-year professional career, Karl-Anthony Towns shared his secret.
“In my career, if I’ve learned anything, it’s just, ‘Don’t get too excited,’” Towns said with a laugh before Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals. “Don’t be excited; just continue to do the job. I wake up every morning and just have the same mentality: I want to go out here and play the best basketball I can and be the best at my job tonight.”
Towns reiterated that message after the Knicks finished a four-game sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers, punching their ticket to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999 — and securing his first trip to the championship round after falling short in the conference finals in each of the last two years.
“I’m gonna enjoy this moment, flying back with my teammates, having this understanding of what we’ve done,” Towns said. “It’s a magical thing, a historical thing. It’s something that New York has been dying for for a long, long time, and we’ll enjoy that plane ride. But once we get in those cars and go to our respective homes, it’s gonna be back to business.”