“I’m an elite defender,” he said after collecting three blocks in the Knicks’ 125-119 overtime win. “I don’t think I got to say that.” With Karl-Anthony Towns shelved because of an injured thumb, Achiuwa, the Knicks’ lone frontcourt reserve behind starter Jericho Sims, played all but a few seconds of the fourth quarter and overtime.

Towns (thumb) is questionable for Monday's game against Atlanta. Towns missed the past two games for New York, but he was a true game-time call Friday against the Timberwolves. He was able to practice Sunday,

Per Steve Popper of Newsday, the Knicks have ruled Karl-Anthony Towns (thumb ... Jericho Sims will once again start in Towns' place with Precious Achiuwa no doubt set to bake him up.

NEW YORK (AP) — Karl-Anthony Towns had 25 points and 16 rebounds ... OG Anunoby scored 20 points and Precious Achiuwa had 11 points off the bench as the Knicks won their second straight game.

NEW YORK (AP) — Karl-Anthony Towns had 25 points and 16 rebounds ... OG Anunoby scored 20 points and Precious Achiuwa had 11 points off the bench as the Knicks won their second straight game.

The New York Knicks needed a player to step up big time on Wednesday against the Philadelphia 76ers with Karl-Anthony Towns out. Jalen Brunson stole the show on the scoring front, but Precious Achiuwa made his presence felt defensively.

January 17 - Karl-Anthony ... Towns' spot in the lineup Wednesday and scored eight points in 23 minutes - as many points as he scored combined in his first three starts in place of Towns. Precious ...

A final differentiator for the Knicks over their last five games is pace. New York is eighth in pace over that span (99.15). Conversely, the Knicks rank 24th in pace on the season (97.97), which includes the last five games. So, something has changed regarding how many possessions they're generating.

The proposed trade would bring in the two-time All-Star big man to boost the Knicks roster ahead of the playoffs.

Jokic has been as dominant as ever this season, but the Knicks were able to hold him to an uncharacteristically unproductive outing on Wednesday.

New York doesn’t have to do anything between now and the trade deadline to reach its goals. The Knicks have been fine with the roster as is. With that said, the sense around the league is that the Knicks will do something minor in order to bolster their bench, whether sooner by getting a player back in a trade or later in the buyout market.