INDIANAPOLIS — Jalen Brunson heard the reputation when Karl-Anthony Towns was with the Timberwolves. Now teammates on the Knicks, Brunson believes he’s seeing the reality. 

Rather than a player who is soft, he has seen one who constantly has fought through injuries. 

“I mean, there are narratives with traded players on other teams,” Brunson said Saturday morning at Knicks shootaround ahead of Game 6. “And when you get to the team, it’s, ‘Oh, that guy is not really like that.’ It’s just, that’s how narratives work. They’re usually probably false. I have the utmost respect for him and the way he’s been able to play throughout this entire season and playoffs. We’re all banged up, but we’re all gonna push through. I had faith that he was gonna play last game.” 

Towns was questionable for Game 5 with a knee injury, but he played 36 minutes and recorded 24 points on 10-for-20 shooting and 13 rebounds. 

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He was not on the Knicks injury report entering Saturday’s Game 6. 

Towns, whom the Knicks acquired from the Timberwolves in the blockbuster deal that sent Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to Minnesota, was named to the All-NBA third team this year.

But due to his preference to shoot from outside the arc rather than bang bodies in the paint and his weak defense, a narrative that Towns is soft has hovered over him much of his career. 

Brunson isn’t buying it. 

“I knew that he was a player that was gonna help us win,” Brunson said. “He’s helped us get to this point. And so I think no matter what the situation is, he’s gonna continue to do that.”