Karl-Anthony Towns had just missed a 3-pointer, badly. It’s been a bit of a struggle for Towns since he banged up his wrist a few weeks ago. He missed a couple of games. He came back. His shot, normally silky, had grown clunky. It happens. And sometimes when it happens, a guy can get in his own head.

There were fewer than four minutes left in a highly entertaining game. The Knicks had squandered an early 12-point lead and the absence of Nikola Jokic thanks to early foul trouble. They’d also roared back from an eight-point deficit, in a moment when it looked like the Nuggets might blast them out of the gym.

Now they were up six, 3 ½ left in the game, and here came Russell Westbrook, Old Man Russ, a throwback pest all night. He had an open lane to the basket. He’s made that lightning-quick finish 10,000 times as a pro. He lofted a short shot. Just not high enough.

Towns caught it on the way up, focusing on the moment, not the missed 3. He slapped it against the backboard. Madison Square Garden waited to hear if a referee’s whistle would halt the action, but this was a clean block, no goaltending. The hush turned into a roar as Jalen Brunson snared the ball off the glass and steamed up court.