“I’m an elite defender,” he said after collecting three blocks in the Knicks’ 125-119 overtime win. “I don’t think I got to say that.” With Karl-Anthony Towns shelved because of an injured thumb, Achiuwa, the Knicks’ lone frontcourt reserve behind starter Jericho Sims, played all but a few seconds of the fourth quarter and overtime.

Whereas most play with a chip on their shoulder, New York Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns will operate with one in his thumb. Per Stefan Bondy and Peter Botte of

New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns explains how nice it felt to hit a couple threes against Memphis and details why Josh Hart should be an All-Star. Plus, Precious Achiuwa explains how his hamstring is feeling after returning from injury in December.

Towns (thumb) will not play Friday against Minnesota, Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News reports. Towns was a true game-time call and attempted to warm up, but the center will miss his second game in a row and remains day-to-day.

NEW YORK — Karl-Anthony Towns had 25 points and 16 rebounds ... OG Anunoby scored 20 points and Precious Achiuwa had 11 points off the bench as the Knicks won their second straight game.

January 17 - Karl-Anthony ... Towns' spot in the lineup Wednesday and scored eight points in 23 minutes - as many points as he scored combined in his first three starts in place of Towns. Precious ...

NEW YORK — Karl-Anthony Towns had 25 points and 16 rebounds ... OG Anunoby scored 20 points and Precious Achiuwa had 11 points off the bench as the Knicks won their second straight game.

After taking apart two of the hottest teams in the Western Conference, next up for the surging Knicks will be welcoming the challenge of the reigning league MVP. Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, who

Achiuwa has now played three games this year with Karl-Anthony Towns (thumb) sidelined, averaging 8.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.3 blocks and 0.7 steals in 26.8 minutes while shooting 73 ...

Karl-Anthony Towns likely is the player the Knicks can least do without, especially with Mitchell Robinson still unable to practice.

NEW YORK — Karl-Anthony Towns had 25 points and 16 rebounds, Jalen Brunson scored eight points down the stretch and finished with 17 as the New York Knicks beat the Brooklyn Nets 99-95 on Tuesday night. OG Anunoby scored 20 points and Precious Achiuwa had 11 points off the bench as the Knicks won their second straight game.

Taking a look at the Knicks' lineup data after 47 games to identify trends worth watching down the stretch of the season.