Karl-Anthony Towns Reveals What He Did Upon Jayson Tatum's Scary injury

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Sean Deveney | Last updated May 13, 2025 12:41 AM ET

A raucous Game 4 win at Madison Square Garden on Monday night puts the Knicks ahead, 3-1, in their Eastern Conference semifinals series against the defending-champion Celtics, a matchup that opened last week with Boston as heavy favorites.

But the Knicks win was marred by a scary injury to the lower leg of Celtics star Jayson Tatum, who was having a brilliant game (42 points, 16-for-28 shooting) and was trying to help the Celtics keep pace with the hot-shooting Knicks down the stretch of the game.

The hope, at this point, is that the injury is a bad ankle sprain and not something worse--most notably an Achilles tendon tear, which would likely cost Tatum a whole season.

The injury took place with just over 3:00 to play in the game, and Tatum reaching for a loose ball after teammate Jaylen Brown lost the handle on it. Tatum hit the floor in obvious pain and had to be carried off the court.

Jayson Tatum appears to have hurt his ankle on this play —

Prayers Up.

pic.twitter.com/Y8Pdxw7RG5
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) May 13, 2025

Speaking after the game, Karl-Anthony Towns of the Knicks said he approached Tatum as he was on the floor. Towns had suffered a Grade 3 calf injury while playing for Minnesota in 2023.

"I've been in a situation like that with my calf," Towns said, via CLNS's Bobby Manning. "If you saw, I just walked up, obviously respectful of his space. I just put my head down and prayed to my mother, prayed to God to put protection over him and comfort, whatever the injury may be. I hope it's minor."

Karl Anthony Towns about Jayson Tatum’s injury in Game 4

“It’s a brotherhood” pic.twitter.com/D29PeI4ZHz
— Darko Dželetović (@DarkoBasketball) May 13, 2025

It would, indeed, have to be a miracle for Tatum to get back on the floor in these playoffs, especially not with the Celtics facing elimination when they face the Knicks on Wednesday in Boston. That game tips off at 7 p.m. ET.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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