I don’t think Karl-Anthony Towns really believes this. Towns has been in the league long enough to know better than to believe in anything other than talent and execution. This is his second conference finals. This was his fifth time as an All-Star, his third as All-NBA. Towns has earned in excess of $200 million, and is due another $100 million-plus more, minimum, the next two years. 

There is nothing mystical about that. Talent rules the day in the NBA. Talent cashes the checks. 

Yet this was Towns Tuesday night, a few minutes before midnight, about an hour after the Pacers schooled the Knicks 130-121 to move within one game of ending their season. Towns had played valiantly, 24 points and 12 rebounds, but he sat at a podium with his left leg stretched out, thanks to a knee-to-knee collision late in the game. 

“We think coming into the fourth quarter that we are going to find that one trick to get us to that win,” Towns said. “We just didn’t have that magic tonight.”