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The pressure and anticipation of the NBA Finals is felt throughout basketball, whether the players want to say it or not.
However, New York Knicks star center Karl-Anthony Towns revealed he “felt a calm and a peace” despite what was at stake in Game 1 Wednesday night at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio against the Spurs.
The reason for his composure through the chaos? His mother.
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New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns shouts during the second half of Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs in San Antonio on June 3, 2026. (Eric Gay/AP Photo)
Towns’ mother, Jacqueline Cruz-Towns, died in April 2020 due to complications from COVID-19. But even though she wasn’t in the stands for her son’s first NBA Finals game, Towns said he felt her presence throughout the day.
“I don’t know what it was, but I just felt a calm and a peace that, I don’t know, had to come from the woman above,” Towns told the “Inside The NBA” crew on ESPN after the Knicks’ 105-95 win over the Spurs to take Game 1 on the road. “So I felt really confident today. I felt good.
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“I felt like a kid. It was just fun out here. It’s something that as a kid you always dream about. You always hope to be an NBA player, let alone be in the NBA Finals. The whole day it was just a weird feeling. It felt like I was a kid getting ready to play my AAU games on Saturday and AAU games on Sunday. In a way, I felt like it was really fun to see her and it was really fun to watch her.
Towns admitted it felt strange because he’s been told what the NBA Finals are going to be like in terms of pressure and need to execute. But the ability to play free and without question helped him, especially when the Knicks were down.
Jacqueline Cruz, mother of Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns, died May 16 in Minneapolis after a week-long battle with COVID-19. She was 59. The photo shows Cruz with Towns during his official 2016 NBA Rookie of the Year photos. (Brian Peterson/Star Tribune)
While it was Jalen Brunson who hit a dagger mid-range jumper late in the fourth quarter to virtually seal the win for the Knicks, it was Towns who made things happen in the third quarter to erase a 14-point deficit to give New York the opportunity for another comeback in the NBA Playoffs.
Towns created a second chance for the Knicks while playing great defense on Spurs star Victor Wembanyama to swing the momentum back to his team’s bench. At one point, Towns huffed and puffed, clearly gassed after giving it his all in the quarter.
Towns finished the game with 18 points and 12 rebounds for another double-double in the playoffs, while recording four assists and a block. He shot 7-of-15 from the field, and even admitted after the game that he didn’t believe he or the Knicks as a whole played a great offensive game.
But it was the team’s defense that helped them rally and get the necessary buckets at the other end to close out a 10-point victory.
New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns looks for a call during the second half of Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs in San Antonio on June 3, 2026. (David J. Phillip/AP)
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The win marked the 12th in a row for the Knicks as their playoff run has been truly remarkable to watch on their way to the NBA Finals. They will look for lucky number 13 on Friday night in Game 2 against the Spurs before returning to Madison Square Garden next week.
