New York Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns reached for some divine intervention before a crucial play in Game 2 of the 2026 NBA Finals.
“I needed a stop,” Towns, 30, joked during ESPN's postgame interview following the Knicks' 105-104 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday, June 6.
Towns was shown on camera looking up to heaven in a dramatic moment before his team's last defensive game. The Knicks ended up winning Game 2 against the Spurs Victor Wembanyama failed to sink the jumper due to Mitchell Robinson's blocked.
During the post-game interview, Towns clarified that he had prayed to his late mother for help Jackie Cruz-Townswho died at the age of 58 in April 2020 due to complications from COVID-19.
“It's surprising as you go on with your life after losing a parent and you just look for signs, I will take any sign I can find and pray for him to be strong before that property,” he explained. “The best player got a good shot, it didn't go in. It's a good defense. Shout out Mitch, shout out to our team. But I take it as a sign that my mom was with me so I appreciate her a lot.”
Towns often credits his mother for watching him throughout the NBA Finals. Before Game 1, Towns told reporters that he “just felt a sense of calmness and peace that I know must come from the woman above.”
He also speculated on what it would mean to his mother to see him reach the NBA Finals because of his immigrant story.
“It meant a lot to my mother when she moved from the DR [Dominican Republic] to New York,” he said. “I saw Madison Square Garden for the first time and saw the power the city has for MSG and the Knicks.”
Towns revealed in March 2020 that both of his parents had tested positive for COVID-19. While the father of an NBA star, Karl Towns Sr.he finally recovered, his mother's health worsened and she suffered a stroke.
After her death, Karl-Anthony shared in a November 2020 vlog that he “pulled the plug” on his late mother when it became clear that she would not recover.
Karl-Anthony Towns
Sarah Stier/Getty Images“That's when I pulled the plug and let him pass,” Towns recalled. “They told me he might be alive for another hour, maybe two.”
He recalled that Jackie ended up unconscious as family members talked to him remotely through video calls.
“He was taken out with laughter,” he said.
Karl-Anthony admitted at the time that he had temporarily put his grief on hold to help his family cope with the loss.
“I think, I think that when I say how I live and how I recover from this, I try to heal myself with others,” he explained. “I try to do everything I can for my sister and father, I try to take care of my friends, and I try to heal myself through them.”
He added, “It has helped, but I think one day, and I know it's creeping up, I feel it every day, it's going to come in and I'm going to have to find a way to deal with it, that's why I wanted to do this.” [vlog]. I thought this would be therapeutic for me to admit that these things are real and that the way I feel is real and I can try to find some normalcy. Life is a game, and I play one chess piece at a time.”
Karl-Anthony has experienced some very exciting times in recent years. In addition to making it to the 2026 NBA Finals, he announced his engagement to Jordyn Woods on Christmas Day 2025 after five years of dating.
