KAT won the respect of the fans after a daring injury against the Cavs

Karl-Anthony Towns gained great respect from New York Knicks fans after pushing through a painful quad injury leads the Knicks to a 119-111 season-opening victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night.​​

After the game, Towns opened by his decision to play despite dealing with a Grade 2 quadruple strain.​​

When asked if he changed anything after his status changed, Towns explained his mindset. “Yeah, I mean, I’ve been loaded and I haven’t really had a chance to practice or play in the last two preseason games. I don’t want to disappoint the fans, do I? Dealing with a two-ranked team is not something teams should do. We made it happen tonight and a lot of fans respected that,” the New York stars said.

The big man also praised his teammates for supporting his decision.

“After I threw in the game tonight, my teammates really gave them a shout. They supported me to understand the situation,” he added.​​

When asked how he felt physically during the game, Towns put it simply.

“It was great. It helped,” he replied

A few fans showed concern about his decision to play through the injury, with one comment: “You don’t have to prove anything to anyone. Please sit down.”

How did the Knicks pull off a win despite injury chaos?

The availability of cities remained uncertain throughout the day. He was originally listed as suspicious before being downgraded to suspicious just hours before the tip.

However, Towns was ultimately fit despite a Grade 2 quad strain that kept him out of New York’s final two preseason games. His final preseason action came on Oct. 9 against Minnesota.​​

Towns put on an impressive performance despite the pain. He finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds in 31 minutes of action. He came up clutch in the fourth quarter, hitting a tie-breaking 3-pointer during a pivotal 14-0 run that helped the Knicks pull away.​​

OG Anunoby also battled an ankle injury and finished with 24 points and 14 rebounds. Jaylen Branson scored 23 points, while Mikal Bridges added 16.​​

The Knicks played shorthanded without Josh Hart and Mitchell Robinson, making Towns’ decision to play even more important to the team’s success.