Towns invokes late mother after Knicks take NBA Finals opener
Towns invokes late mother after Knicks take NBA Finals opener
Karl-Anthony Towns said his late mother gave him a sense of calm before the New York Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs 105-95 in Game 1 of the NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio on June 3, 2026. Speaking to broadcasters after the final buzzer, the Knicks center described the feeling as peace rather than pressure, attributing it to his mother, Jacqueline Cruz-Towns, who died in April 2020 from complications related to COVID-19.
“I don’t know what it was, but I just felt a calm and a peace that, I don’t know, had to be coming from the woman above,” Towns said. “I felt like a kid. It was just fun out here.” He added that the sensation resembled preparation for a childhood AAU game rather than the highest-stakes match in the NBA calendar, and that at moments during the evening he felt as if he could see her in the stands.
Towns delivered 18 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, and one block on 7-of-15 shooting – a double-double that proved most consequential in the third quarter, when the Knicks erased a 14-point deficit. His interior work creating second-chance opportunities, combined with his defense on Spurs star Victor Wembanyama, helped swing momentum before Jalen Brunson sealed the game with a mid-range jumper late in the fourth quarter. Towns acknowledged afterward that neither he nor the team played a particularly sharp offensive game, crediting the defensive effort for the turnaround. The win extended New York’s postseason winning streak to 12 consecutive games.
The series resumes Friday night in San Antonio for Game 2, with the Knicks returning to Madison Square Garden the following week for Games 3 and 4.
