It was just over 55 years ago that a hobbled New York Knicks warrior provided an emotional jolt that propelled his team to victory in Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals.
That big man was Willis Reed, and despite finishing with just four points, his mere presence is credited for elevating New York to that championship – one that remains on the Knicks’ Mount Rushmore of triumphs.
On Thursday, another Knicks star, Karl-Anthony Towns, fought through an injury and willed New York to a 111-94 win – dominating the Pacers with a 24-point, 13-rebound performance in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals.
While the scenarios may be different, their “win-at-all-costs” mentality and toughness under less-than-ideal circumstances are similar.
For Towns, the desire to win was forged by his parents, Karl Towns and the late Jackie Cruz-Towns. When he was a junior at St. Joe’s Metuchen during the 2012-13 basketball season, I produced ‘Center of Attention,’ a documentary about Karl-Anthony. During my reporting, I spent time with his family and soon learned that the dining room in their Piscataway, New Jersey, home was where many of life’s lessons were imparted.
That season, I observed Karl-Anthony’s intense focus on winning and no-excuses attitude begin to crystalize after a loss to East Brunswick High School.
I was working on the documentary at the family’s home when his mother suggested that the loss, the second to East Brunswick that season, should be a learning experience.
Her son wasn’t having it.
“We lost to East Brunswick the first day, we lost to East Brunswick today. It’s always, ‘You got to learn from this.’ Well, sooner or later, you got to stop learning,” the then-17-year-old calmly explained to his mom. “It’s just like you being in college. OK, you go to college – you learn a lot. If you don’t go and use it in the real world, your college education was useless…
‘And until we learn – actually learn, and decide to go on the street and use what we learn, and actually beat an elite team, for one time, this season, then we will not be what we need to be for the year.”
Jackie appeared pleased with Karl-Anthony’s reasoning.
After 19 practices and 12 subsequent games, Towns’ St. Joe’s Metuchen and East Brunswick faced each other for a third time – this one for the conference championship. St. Joe’s Metuchen won, 66-63, in double-overtime.
Indiana’s Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the site of Saturday night’s Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals, will no doubt be a hostile environment for Towns. Will he use what he’s learned and lift the Knicks once again?
We’ll see soon enough.