Draymond Green Offers Knicks, Karl-Anthony Towns Props

As if Green's theory wasn't ridiculous enough on the surface , Towns (who was actually on bereavement leave after his girlfriend Jordyn Woods lost a close friend to cancer) dispelled it further with a 29-point, 12-rebound double-double in Saturday's interconference clash. Alas for New York, clutch tallies from Green served as de facto daggers in another primetime heartbreaker, which the Knick dropped by a 97-94 final.

In comments that should only drag the ongoing feud further, Green (who never formally apologized for his accusation) couldn't help but take partial credit for the extra rowdy Towns, who almost single-handedly kept the Knicks in the game despite lingering foul trouble.

“That was fun, really fun,” Green, no doubt somewhat pacified by the win, said, per Steve Popper of Newsday. “Good to see KAT show up and play like that. He played hard, played well. He was physical, probably most physical I’ve ever seen him. He had a little extra motivation, so that made the game really fun. That was great.

“He kind of fed into what everybody else was saying. So it was a little extra motivation. But I like battles, so if it forces a guy to play harder and more physical, that’s great. I ain’t never seen him willing to talk. That was great, really fun. He had a really good game.”

While both sides avoided an explosion, the Towns-Green matchup felt a ticking timebomb hovering over Saturday's game: despite early struggles from the field, Green vocally relished Towns picking up his third foul in the first half and ABC cameras later caught him mouthing what appeared to be the word "soft" after a Towns turnover.

For his part, Towns showed a little extra emotion following a dunk that saw him breeze by Green but tried to downplay the idea of using the Golden State agitator as bulletin board material during an in-game interview with ABC's Lisa Salters.

"I'm keeping it about the Knicks," Towns told Salters. "It ain't about anything off court. It's about the New York Knicks. That's all I'm thinking about tonight."

At the most crucial points of the game, the Knicks were all about Towns: facing a nine-point deficit in the late stages of the game, the Knicks narrowed the gap to two thanks to an 11-3 run that consisted entirely of Towns tallies before Mikal Bridges tied it with a mid-range double. With Towns partly shadowing the Golden State headliners, Butler and Green united to shoot 6-of-20 from the field.

Alas for New York, Green also saved his best for last: after Moses Moody gave Golden State (39-28) what became a permanent lead, Green sank two at the charity stripe after a Towns foul after he was stripped by Gary Payton II.

Green's final insult came after he got past Towns for one last driving double, creating an impenetrable six-point advantage for Golden State with just over 25 seconds remaining. Prior to the dagger, Towns missed an open three after Moody's two, setting the tone for a dire conclusion on the visitors' end.

Though Green once against stopped short of an apology in his walk-off interview with Salters, he offered perhaps the closest thing to a compliment that he could offer to Towns and the Knicks (42-24).

"Even without Jalen Brunson, that's a great ball club," Green said, referencing the injured Knicks captain. "They play hard. Karl had a great game, they follow the charge. OG [Anunoby] played great, Mikal played great. A Tom Thibodeau-coached team is always going to play hard. They took us to the brink, we were able to make the plays down the stretch."

If Towns and the Knicks were to face Green's Warriors again, it would come only in this June's NBA Finals. The quest to inch back continues on Monday when they host the Miami Heat at Madison Square Garden (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG/ESPN).