Perhaps the best indication of what’s important for these Knicks — or what’s most relevant to their status as either contenders or pretenders — was the theme of Wednesday night’s postgame locker room interviews.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 25 points and 16 rebounds, Jalen Brunson scored eight points down the stretch and finished with 17 as the New York Knicks beat the Brooklyn Nets 99-95.

Towns managed to hold Jokić to just 59 points on 44 percent shooting and 19 percent shooting from three during the second round of the NBA Playoffs in 2024. The series between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Nuggets went to seven games, so holding him to just 59 points is a pretty huge feat.