How did Karl-Anthony Towns do in his debut for the Knicks?

Towns and New York couldn't handle the defending champion Celtics.

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) drives to the basket against New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns in the second quarter at TD Garden in Boston on Oct. 22, 2024. / David Butler II-Imagn Images

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds in his debut for the New York Knicks, a 132-109 Knicks loss to the defending champion Boston Celtics Tuesday night in Boston. 

The Celtics looked every part of the defending champions in Tuesday’s season-opening victory, coming out of the gates with a 43-point first quarter and outscoring the Knicks by 19. 

Towns played the fewest minutes of the starters, logging 24 — unusually low for a Tom Thibodeau-led team.

In addition to the 12 points and seven rebounds, Towns had three assists, not turnovers and finished with a plus-minus of minus-18, the best mark of the Knicks’ starters. Towns shot 5 for 9 and knocked down 1-of-2 3-pointers. 

But Towns and the Knicks were no match for Jayson Tatum and the defending champs. Tatum had 37 points, 10 assists, four rebounds, a steal and a block in a dominant all-around game.