Karl-Anthony Towns gave the New York Knicks a scare in the first quarter against the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night, Oct. 28, 2026, then returned to help his team to a 133-127 win at the United Center in Chicago. Towns went to the locker room with an apparent left wrist injury after a collision, had the wrist taped, and came back into the game. He finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds, and the Knicks won their second game in a row.
The injury happened early, while the Knicks were running an offensive possession. Jalen Brunson brought the ball down the court and passed to Towns, who was just inside the arc. Noa Essengue, who had been guarding Brunson, chased Brunson around the perimeter and ran into Towns, knocking him down. Towns lay on the floor for a short time, in clear pain, and grabbed at his left wrist before heading to the locker room to be evaluated.
How Towns got hurt against Chicago
The play itself was a routine piece of offence that turned awkward in a split second. Brunson moved with the ball, Essengue followed him, and he was caught in the path of the chase. He hit his left hand and wrist on the court as he went down, according to NBC Sports, which also reported that he returned after a quick trip to the locker room to get taped up. Foul trouble then limited him to 28 minutes, but he stayed in the game after his return.
ESPN reported during the game that he had gone back to the locker room with a wrist injury, and his return was uncertain at that point. The timing worried Knicks fans because he had been one of the team’s most important players to start the season. He entered Wednesday averaging 21.0 points and 12.0 rebounds per game through three contests, and he had recorded a double-double in each of those three games.
What Towns produced after his return
For Towns, the night ended far better than it had looked in the first quarter.
He still found a way to affect the game in limited minutes. He shot 7-of-14 from the field and 2-of-2 from the line, added five assists, one steal and three three-pointers, and reached his fourth double-double in four games this season when the rebound count is included with his points total. Landry Shamet added 14 points off the bench, and Josh Hart added eight rebounds and two points as New York held on for the win.
The Knicks were level at 34-33 at the end of the first quarter, and the game stayed close from there. Brunson took over the scoring load, finishing with 38 points on 13-of-25 shooting, including 6-of-8 from the free throw line, plus seven assists, two steals and six three-pointers. It was a sharp response after Brunson had shot 36.6 percent from the field across the Knicks first four games, and NBC Sports noted that the Knicks had not arrived in Chicago until about 3 a.m. on Wednesday.
The return mattered because the Knicks had started the season 0-3 before beating Detroit 111-97 on Tuesday, Oct. 27. The win over Chicago moved New York to 2-3 for the season and gave the team back-to-back wins for the first time this season. Brunson scored season highs in points, assists, steals and three-pointers, and the Knicks closed out a road game they had trailed in at times during a tight fourth quarter.
Chicago could not turn the early scare into a win. New York won 133-127, its second straight win, and left Chicago with a record of 2-3 and a healthier outlook than the one it carried into the week.
Why the Towns scare mattered for New York
Towns left the floor in pain in the first quarter and finished the game with 19 points and 13 rebounds. That sequence, from the locker room to the final buzzer, is the story of his night in Chicago.
The scare also underlined how central he has been to the Knicks early season. He entered Wednesday as the team’s rebounding anchor, averaging 12.0 rebounds per game, and his 21.0 points per game made him the second scoring option behind Brunson. Losing him for a long stretch would have left New York short at centre, with Hart and the bench asked to cover minutes that he usually fills.
Attention now turns to Friday, Oct. 30, when the Knicks visit the Philadelphia 76ers. NBC Sports noted that it remained to be seen whether Towns would show up on the injury report for that game.