Although the majority of New York Knicks fandom wasn’t too concerned while watching what their team did in the third quarter, the Karl-Anthony Towns injury scare wasn’t exactly a run-of-the-mill moment.

Early in the second quarter of the Knicks’ encouraging 112-109 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday, Towns took a tumble while driving down the right side of the lane.

Towns’ tumble

Editor’s note: NSFW language is contained in the following video (thanks, KAT):

Towns, 30, also said a few choice words while crumbling down to the Philly hardwood on Saturday afternoon. Once down, it took a solid minute for him to make it back to his feet and attempt the charity shots.

However, the injury did not take him out of the game.

In October, KAT played through a quad strain. New York’s big man has only missed two games this season, two wins in December and a loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Jan. 2.

Thanks to the fall in Philly, Towns’ previous injury designation — officially popping up on a practice day, Friday, Jan. 23 — of thoracic back spasms is what made Saturday’s incident troublesome. Nevertheless, it appears that all is well for the Knicks’ center/forward.

Well, at least that’s the case on the New York Knicks injury front (for now). As it relates to actual play on the court, Towns has some work to do.

On court work to do

Although the Knicks came away with their second straight victory, Towns’s role left much to be desired. His 10 points and 6 rebounds in just 16 minutes only begin to tell the story.

The lineup that led the way was impossible to miss, and it didn’t include KAT. Mike Brown pointed to Mitchell Robinson after Towns picked up a quick fourth foul early in the third quarter, and that Jalen Brunson-led lineup with a quicker supporting cast helped the Knickerbockers outscore the Sixers 30-13 in the frame.

It’s not that Robinson is faster than Towns; instead, Mitch’s length, coupled with his defensive and rebounding prowess, makes up for the deficiencies Towns puts forth when in the lineup.

Since last spring, Knick X has pointed out the impossibility of any coach making a Brunson-Towns-centric roster work at a championship level, but that’s another story for another day. For now, Karl-Anthony Towns’s injury status seems to have avoided a scare, even if the feeling about his play and fit on this New York Knicks roster remains highly questionable.