Mike Brown came to the defense of Karl-Anthony Towns’ defense.

Towns is often criticized for his lax effort on that side of the ball.

His lack of speed, particularly laterally, is often noticeable when he’s late in rotations or slow getting down the court.

But, though it was against a weak opponent, Brown was impressed with Towns’ defensive showing during the Knicks’ win over the Jazz on Friday night at Madison Square Garden.

“KAT, he’s long,” Brown said. “He moves his feet better than what people think. Also, he’s got a great feel, he’s a smart basketball player. When he uses his length the right way, which he’s been doing as of late, just wall up and make them shoot over the top of you. If they make it, just move on to the next play. But when he does that, it helps our paint defense a ton.

One thing that has helped Towns defensively is that he’s recently been primarily playing center, where he can stay closer to the paint, rather than power forward, where he’s forced to defend opponents outside the perimeter.
Karl-Anthony Towns defends during the Knicks’ win over the Jazz on Dec. 5, 2025.

Mitchell Robinson was taken out of the starting lineup and came off the bench the last five games he played.

Towns played center as a result.

Sunday’s matinee against the Magic at MSG offers the Knicks a needed chance to make a statement.

They lost both the first two matchups this year.

What was most concerning is how badly the Knicks were outmuscled in both losses.

Franz Wagner killed them in their last meeting, a 133-121 Knicks loss in Orlando.

He recorded 37 points on 13-for-19 shooting from 3-point range along with seven assists and six rebounds.

The Magic sit fourth in the Eastern Conference, 1.5 games behind the second-place Knicks.

Towns (left calf tightness) is questionable for Sunday’s game.

The Knicks will be wearing their City Edition jerseys and feature their corresponding court for Sunday’s game.