Karl-Anthony Towns

Notes from the Knicks' win over the Hornets on Wednesday night at MSG, including Karl-Anthony Towns' domination, and the reason Josh Hart has started the last six games.

Thursday's game is the first of two in as many nights for the Raptors, who host the Hornets on Friday. Poeltl's absence opens up a spot in the starting lineup, and this may be a spot where Sandro Mamukelashvili or Collin Murray-Boyles starts. While Jamison Battle was the choice for Sunday's loss to the Knicks, the Lakers' Deandre Ayton spends more time around the basket than New York's Karl-Anthony Towns.

Towns and the Knicks could not reach terms on an extension last summer, he has two years and $118 left on his current contract.

Towns closed with 29 points (12-19 FG, 2-5 3Pt, 3-3 FT), seven rebounds, two assists and one block in 33 minutes during Tuesday's 123-117 loss to the Celtics.

While the Knicks' four-game win streak ended on Tuesday, Towns had another encouraging offensive performance. After scoring 28 points on 8-of-21 shooting in wins over the Hornets and Bucks, KAT has totaled 51 points on 20-of-35 shooting over the last two. He's providing third-round value in eight- and nine-cat formats, performing slightly better in the former. If Towns plays on Wednesday against the Hornets, that could be a big game for him, given Charlotte's defensive struggles (24th in points allowed and defensive rating).