Back at center, Karl-Anthony Towns having a strong start to season for Knicks: ‘I feel I’m a better version of myself’

Karl-Anthony Towns had one of his best games as a Knick on Friday night. Towns scored 27 points in the first half – and 32 overall – in New York’s home win over Milwaukee.

Towns credits Jalen Brunson for his big night.

“Yeah, just it starts with cap’. Cap’ put us in positions to succeed. The gravity he was making with his talent, putting us all in spots to succeed,” Towns said Friday night.

“Early in the game, he put me in spots to utilize my talent… so shoutouts to cap — and all of us — together just doing what we need to do to win the game.”

The Knicks’ win snapped a two-game losing streak.

“It’s a good solid win. It’s improvement,” Tom Thibodeau said after the game. “That’s what we’re shooting for every day. Just keep getting better.”

The Knicks improved to 4-4 on the season. Milwaukee dropped to 2-7.

Carmelo Anthony visited the home locker room after the win. He spent several minutes talking to Towns.

“I’m a huge Carmelo Anthony fan,” Towns said afterward. “….If I could have the career he’s had, I’d be very, very, very blessed and honored.”

Towns has had a strong start to the season, averaging 24 points and knocking down 56 percent of his three-point attempts.

The 7-footer is playing center regularly again. He played center for only five percent of his 2000+ minutes last year.

“I don’t just lose the ability to play the five,” Towns said Friday night.

He said his strong start at center this season is “just being able to do what I did a lot of years at the five.”

“I feel I’m a better version of myself,” Towns said. “I’m smarter, more experienced, I think I’m more talented than I’ve ever been. So being able to utilize that for our team is what I want to do every single night so it can translate to wins.”