Karl-Anthony Towns saved the Knicks, even if they might not have asked him to become their savior.

Just about every big play down the stretch Sunday was designed to free up Jalen Brunson, who gamely played through a bad ankle. The team is Brunson’s, which is obvious and was obvious through a fourth quarter in which many plays amounted to: Give the ball to Brunson and get out of the way.

The final 12 minutes of play involved 11 shots (seven made) from Brunson, who scored 15 of his 32 points while chipping in two assists that period because he always had the ball in his hands.

But when play broke down around the hobbling point guard, it was Towns who stepped into the spotlight for what became a 94-93, Game 4 exhale in Detroit, where the Knicks rallied to take a 3-1 first-round lead.