Vincent Goodwill Apr 23, 2026, 06:00 AM ET KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS FLEXED toward the Madison Square Garden crowd following a drive that began more than 30 feet from the basket and ended with the 7-foot big man on the floor, awaiting a trip to the foul line to cap a three-point play. Towns had bullied his way from next to the Atlanta Hawks bench, through two defenders and to the rim, extending the New York Knicks ' lead to 14 points with less than seven minutes remaining in Saturday's first-round opener. The play highlighted the matchup nightmare Towns presents throughout these playoffs: a versatile stretch big who needs to be accounted for at all times. "It gets back to efficiency, and that's a challenge for us right now," Hawks coach Quin Snyder said before the Knicks' 113-102 win on Saturday. Towns scored 19 of his 25 points in the second half, offsetting a cold-shooting night from All-Star guard Jalen Brunson . "It's a little bit of pick your poison. How do you handle [Towns] on the post with a mismatch?…