Karl-Anthony Towns

Oklahoma City Thunder (48-15, first in the Western Conference) vs. New York Knicks (40-22, third in the Eastern Conference)New York; Wednesday, 7 p.m. ESTBETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Thunder -4.5; over/under is 221.5BOTTOM LINE: Oklahoma City seeks to keep its three-game win streak alive when the Thunder take on New York.The Knicks have gone 23-8 at home. New York is fourth in the league averaging 14.8 made 3-pointers per game while shooting 37.5% from deep. Jalen Brunson leads the team averaging 2.9 makes while shooting 37.8% from 3-point range.The Thunder are 23-8 on the road. Oklahoma City is seventh in the Western Conference with 25.5 assists per game led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander averaging 6.4.The Knicks make 47.2% of their shots from the field this season, which is 3.6 percentage points higher than the Thunder have allowed to their opponents (43.6%). The Thunder average 13.5 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.1 fewer makes per game than the Knicks give up.TOP PERFORMERS: Karl-Anthony Towns is shooting 48.0% and averaging 19.8 points for the Knicks. Brunson is averaging 24.8 points over the last 10 games.Isaiah Joe is shooting 44.6% and averaging 11.0 points for the Thunder. Jared McCain is averaging 2.1 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.LAST 10 GAMES: Knicks: 7-3, averaging 115.3 points, 44.5 rebounds, 28.9 assists, 8.8 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 48.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 103.7 points per game.Thunder: 8-2, averaging 114.9 points, 45.9 rebounds, 25.5 assists, 9.4 steals and 5.0 blocks per game while shooting 45.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 107.5 points.INJURIES: Knicks: Miles McBride: out (ankle).Thunder: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: day to day (abdominal), Ajay Mitchell: day to day (abdomen), Branden Carlson: day to day (back), Jalen Williams: out (hamstring), Thomas Sorber: out for season (knee), Isaiah Hartenstein: day to day (injury management).___The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

Since the All-Star break, Towns has recorded five double-doubles in seven appearances. During the first half of Tuesday's game, the Knicks' center was on pace to record a triple-double, but the assist production tailed off after halftime. Towns will need to come through with a similar effort against the Thunder on Wednesday, especially with Mitchell Robinson (two points, 10 rebounds and two steals) appearing unlikely to be available.

CLEVELAND (AP) Jaylon Tyson scored 22 points, James Harden added 18 and the Cleveland Cavaliers avenged a recent loss in Detroit by beating the East-leading Pistons 113-109 on Tuesday night despite playing without injured star Donovan Mitchell.Evan Mobley also had 18 points and Dennis Schroder 15 for the Cavs, who split their four regular-season games with Detroit.Mitchell sat out his fourth straight game with a nagging groin strain. Coach Kenny Atkinson said the seven-time All-Star is trending better but doesn t know when he ll be back to build chemistry for the postseason with Harden, who was acquired at the trade deadline.Jalen Duren added 24 points and 14 rebounds and Tobias Harris scored 19 points all after halftime for the Pistons, who had their road winning streak stopped at six games. Cade Cunningham dished out 14 assists but scored only 10 on 4-of-16 shooting for Detroit.The Pistons cut an 11-point deficit to one in the fourth, but Sam Merrill hit a big 3-pointer to help the Cavs hang on.HORNETS 117, MAVERICKS 90CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) Brandon Miller scored 17 points, and Charlotte routed Dallas for its fifth straight victory.LaMelo Ball added 15 points and nine assists to help the Hornets (31-31) reach .500 for the first time since Oct. 28 when they were 2-2.Brandon Williams had 18 points for the sputtering Mavericks. They ve lost 14 of 16.Charlotte, playing on the first night of a back-to-back, got tremendous production from its bench, with the backups shooting 12 of 21 from 3-point range.Grant Williams made four 3s, Josh Green and Sion James had three each and Pat Connaughton had two.Charlotte was whistled for a season-high 31 fouls and Dallas went to the free throw line 42 times, making 31. However, the Mavericks made only 3 of 22 shots from beyond the 3-point arc and could never get on track offensively in the second half making just 11 field goals.MAGIC 126, WIZARDS 109ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) Paolo Banchero equaled a season high with 37 points, Desmond Bane scored 25 and Orlando eased to a victory over Washington.Banchero went 15 of 21 from the field as Orlando shot 55.3% and dominated with its starters on the floor to end a two-game skid. The Magic are seventh in the Eastern Conference.Jett Howard scored 12 points and Jalen Suggs, Jevon Carter and Moritz Wagner had 10 apiece for an Orlando team that was missing injured regulars Anthony Black (quad), Wendell Carter Jr. (ankle) and Franz Wagner (ankle).Rookie Will Riley scored 19 points and Jaden Hardy added 18 for the Wizards, who had nine healthy players available and lost their sixth straight.KNICKS 111, RAPTORS 95TORONTO (AP) Jalen Brunson had 26 points and 10 assists, Karl-Anthony Towns added 21 points and 12 rebounds, and New York beat Toronto for its fifth win in six games.After snapping San Antonio s 11-game winning streak on Sunday, the Knicks ran their win streak against Toronto to 12. The Raptors last beat New York on Jan. 22, 2023, a 125-116 win at Toronto.The Knicks (40-22) became the third Eastern Conference team to reach 40 wins, joining Detroit and Boston. OG Anunoby scored 15 points against his former team, Landry Shamet and Josh Hart each had 12 and Mikal Bridges added 11 for New York.Brandon Ingram scored 31 points and RJ Barrett had 20 for Toronto, which lost its fourth straight at home and dropped to 4-10 against Atlantic Division opponents.Toronto s Scottie Barnes scored 14 points, and Immanuel Quickley had 13 points and 12 assists.New York had 17 turnovers, leading to 22 points for Toronto. The Raptors were sloppy, too, making 15 miscues that led to 17 points for the Knicks.New York s reserves outscored Toronto s 26-8.HEAT 124, NETS 98MIAMI (AP) Bam Adebayo had 23 points, nine rebounds and six steals, and Miami beat Brooklyn in the opener of a two-game series.Tyler Herro added 22 points and Jaime Jaquez Jr. had 20 for the Heat, who won for the fifth time in seven games.Adebayo and Herro each had 15 points at halftime, while Jaquez and Andrew Wiggins both had 13 as Miami built a 69-54 lead. The Heat shot 53% in the first two quarters before pulling away in the fourth quarter and leading by 27.Noah Clowney scored 17 points for the Nets, who lost their ninth straight. Ziaire Williams had 16 points and Nolan Traore added 14.Nets leading scorer Michael Porter Jr. had a miserable night, going 3 for 17 and missing all nine 3-point attempts. He finished with nine points.Brooklyn hasn t won since consecutive victories nearly a month ago.SPURS 131, 76ERS 91PHILADELPHIA (AP) Dylan Harper scored 22 points and Victor Wembanyama needed only 10 to help San Antonio bounce back from its first loss in 12 games and rout Philadelphia.The Spurs hit 18 3-pointers and wrapped their annual rodeo road trip with a 5-1 record. They had won 11 straight games overall before they lost Sunday to the New York Knicks.No worries in Philly about a losing streak. San Antonio never trailed and led by 49 points at the end of the third quarter. Devin Vassell hit six 3-pointers and scored 22 points for the Spurs.Tyrese Maxey scored 21 points for the Sixers. They scored only 11 points total in the third quarter.THUNDER 116, BULLS 108CHICAGO (AP) Jared McCain scored 20 points, Isaiah Joe added 19 and Oklahoma City playing without star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander beat Chicago.The defending NBA champion Thunder held out Gilgeous-Alexander to manage an abdominal strain that sidelined him for most of last month. But even without the reigning MVP, they had more than enough to win for the sixth time in seven games. They lead the Western Conference at 48-15.McCain made four 3-pointers. Aaron Wiggins scored 18 points. Jaylin Williams had 17 points and 16 rebounds. Cason Wallace had 17 points, and Chet Holmgren added 12 points and 11 rebounds.Collin Sexton scored 20 points for Chicago, including a 3 in the closing minute that cut it to 112-106. But the Bulls got back to losing after stopping an 11-game skid with a lopsided win over Milwaukee on Sunday.Guerschon Yabusele had a season-high 18 points and 12 rebounds for his third double-double in 11 games since a trade-deadline deal with New York. The 6-foot-8, 283-pound Frenchman made four 3-pointers.TIMBERWOLVES 117, GRIZZLIES 110MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Anthony Edwards scored 41 points as Minnesota overcame a sluggish first half to beat Memphis.The Timberwolves, who moved into fourth in the Western Conference over the weekend, have won four in a row and seven of eight. Memphis saw its two-game winning streak end.Julius Randle added 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Wolves and Ayo Dosunmu contributed 14 points off the bench.Jaylen Wells led Memphis with 19 points and Cedric Coward added 15. Memphis went on a 12-2 run to cut it to four points in the final minute but couldn t complete the rally.Edwards, fresh off being named Western Conference Player of the Week, took over in the fourth quarter. He scored 13 points, including three 3-pointers, as the Wolves pulled away. It was his ninth 40-point game of the season, and fans serenaded him with MVP! chants in the final minute.

Jalen Brunson had 26 points and 10 assists, Karl-Anthony Towns added 21 points and 12 rebounds, and the New York Knicks beat the Toronto Raptors 111-95 on Wednesday night for their fifth win in six games. After snapping San Antonio s 11-game winning streak on Sunday, the Knicks ran their win streak against Toronto to 12. The Raptors last beat New York on Jan. 22, 2023, a 125-116 win at Toronto.

Find out why our NBA player prop projections for Knicks vs. Raptors are calling for Karl-Anthony Towns to pile up the points. Free Knicks vs. Raptors computer picks for Tuesday, March 3.