ATLANTA — Karl-Anthony Towns, with each step, basked in the love a bit more.

It was in the third quarter of Saturday’s Game 4 first-round matchup against the Atlanta Hawks when Towns checked out after yet another successful stint. He took a slow walk down the bench, walking past the last player wearing his team’s colors and almost into the tunnel. It’s the same area where a raucous section of Knicks fans set up shop inside Atlanta’s State Farm Arena. They cheered his name. They gave him an ovation. The Knicks center turned back toward his bench, stopped, looked at the crowd behind him and nodded his head as if to say, “I appreciate you.”

It was a player in the midst of a dominant performance, able to enjoy the moment because of the work he and his team had put in. Towns worked the crowd like a baby-face wrestler who kicked out before a three-count and began to take control of a match.

Towns tortured the Hawks, scoring 20 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and dishing out 10 assists, marking the first triple-double of his playoff career. It helped New York regain momentum in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs as it won, 114-98, and tied the series at 2-2 going back to Madison Square Garden for Game 5.

Since Towns became a Knick, though, media, fans and observers have tried to make him a heel. There have been points during his two seasons in New York when people have wanted different things from the All-Star.

They’ve wanted him to defend better. They’ve wanted him to be more engaged on both ends. They’ve wanted the self-proclaimed “greatest big-man shooter of all time” to, you know, shoot more. They’ve wanted him to be more of a bully when smaller players are guarding him. The list goes on. He’s often the scapegoat when things get dicey in New York, which happens more often than it should with a team of this much talent.

Yet Towns routinely shows up when the stakes are highest. He did it last postseason. And he’s doing it again.

“He’s one of those guys who can take over a game,” Josh Hart said.

Coming into the series against Atlanta, many people thought this would be an opportunity for Towns to shoot 20 times a game, something people have clamored for at times this season under head coach Mike Brown. The Hawks are small. The Knicks’ most clear advantage was going to be inside, with Towns the most likely candidate to feast in several areas.

It has been a Towns series, but he doesn’t need a plethora of shots a night to prove that. Towns hasn’t taken more than 13 shots in a game this entire series. He needed only 10 on Saturday to prove a point.

The big man has been efficient all playoffs by bulldozing to the rim and finishing, by knocking down trailing 3s and hitting the offensive glass. Where Towns controlled Game 4 is as the offense’s hub. New York played out of the high post often, allowing Towns to get the ball and throw his water polo-style passes as his teammates cut into open spaces.

Towns grew up idolizing Magic Johnson. That’s why he wears No. 32. Sometimes, he gets too carried away with the angles and tight spaces he tries to force the ball into, but the intentions are always good. That’s part of the charm of idolizing one of the sport’s greatest ball movers. Towns was clinical as a passer in Game 4, patiently waiting as guys broke free and hitting them on time and on target.

The Knicks’ offense flourished with that setup.

“He’s special at moving the ball,” said OG Anunoby, who scored 22 points and was often the beneficiary of Towns’ passing. “I know he’s going to find me, no matter how tight the window is.”

Brown didn’t go into the night saying “WE MUST GET KAT THE BALL!” per se. The head coach said the Knicks made tweaks to their early offense that would allow them to get to their second action in a possession quicker, and by doing so, it led to the ball being in Towns’ hands quite a bit. Towns then delivered as both a passer and driver when the opportunities presented themselves.

“We’re just trying to find different ways to get KAT the ball,” Brown said. “One way is playing through the elbow, and he had a couple of post-ups. We’re trying to move him around, whether at the top of the floor, the elbow or on the block so he can get a few more touches throughout the course of the game.”

This series, Towns has also been impactful defensively as a rim protector. The Knicks’ setup has allowed him to be at the rim when the Hawks are driving, as opposed to guarding in space and then trying to beat a ballhandler to the rim. Towns has seven blocks in four games.

Atlanta’s answer for Towns is hoping that he stops himself. When Towns doesn’t take a smaller player to the block and tries to gain possession, the Hawks win. When Towns doesn’t make the right read at the right time, the Hawks win. When Towns turns down 3-point shots, the Hawks win. The way it’s been defending him, Atlanta is banking on Towns beating Towns.

Towns hasn’t beaten himself, and the Knicks are getting an efficient version of him in the process. The shot attempts aren’t high, but few possessions go to waste when Towns initiates offense. That’s a win for New York.

“He really put us in position to win,” Jalen Brunson said.

All the way up until the final month of the regular season, Towns routinely mentioned that he’s still getting comfortable in Brown’s offensive system. Why was that the case? The blame needed to be passed around.

Plays weren’t always called to make sure multiple possessions didn’t go by without the big man in advantageous positions. Towns himself struggled with his spots in the read-and-react scheme. Teammates didn’t always do a good job of finding Towns when he was open. His 13.8 field goal attempts per game this season were a career low.

So far in the postseason, Towns has looked pretty comfortable. He’s been direct. He’s been purposeful. He’s done the best of what he’s known for and blended it with what his head coach wants him to do.

To Towns’ credit, he appears to be adapting, even if he does wish more shots were coming his way. That’s what winners do.

Another playoffs, another call that Towns has answered.