Karl-Anthony Towns stats today: New York big man makes difference against Victor Wembanyama in win over Spurs originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Karl-Anthony Towns has had better games than the one he put forth during the Knicks‘ Game 1 win over the Spurs. He has scored more points, tallied more rebounds, dished out more assists and recorded more blocks.

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But none of those performances came in games of the magnitude of Wednesday’s. Towns authored an eye-catching two-way display, producing consistent offense on one end of the floor while limiting Victor Wembanyama‘s effectiveness on the other.

Compared to his glitziest showings, Towns’ output on Wednesday might look a bit underwhelming. Rest assured, however, his outing proved vital to New York’s result. His teammates and coaches made that clear postgame/

Here’s what you need to know.

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Karl-Anthony Towns stats today

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Towns continued his run of strong form on Wednesday, producing 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting. He tallied 12 rebounds, the joint-second-highest mark of any player (trailing only Josh Hart). He fell slightly short of his postseason average for assists, collecting just four instead of his usual 5.9 dimes.

Nevertheless, Towns powered New York’s comeback efforts on Wednesday night — especially as Brunson‘s performance toiled.

He also kept Wembanyama quiet, an impressive — and somewhat unexpected — sight.

Karl-Anthony Towns vs. Victor Wembanyama

Here’s a look at how Towns’ performance compared to that of Wembanyama on Wednesday night.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Victor Wembanyama

34

Minutes

38

18

Points

26

12

Rebounds

12

4

Assists

2

0

Steals

1

1

Blocks

3

2

Turnovers

6

46.7% (7-15)

FG%

28.6% (6-21)

0.0% (0-2)

3PT%

22.2% (2-9)

100% (4-4)

FT%

92.3% (12-13)

Wembanyama shined at the free throw line. But he was left to just 28.6% shooting on the day, his joint-third-worst shooting showing of the season.

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The Frenchman had his fair share of highlights during the contest, swatting Towns to send San Antonio‘s concourses into raptures.

But Towns got the last laugh, using his physicality to bother his opposite number on both ends of the floor.

His display had Mike Brown singing his praises postgame.

Karl-Anthony Towns playoff stats

57.2 percent field goal shooting

48.9 percent 3-point shooting

89.1 percent free throw shooting

How old is Karl-Anthony Towns?

Towns is 30 years old. He’ll turn 31 on Nov. 15.