It’s a little past 5 p.m., and Towns signs his last autograph. He disappears into the locker room and finishes preparing for the night’s game against the Magic. The Knicks are coming off a loss at home to the Hawks, a defeat that sent them to Orlando instead of Las Vegas for the NBA Cup semifinals. New York needs a bounce-back victory.

With three days off following that embarrassing loss to the Hawks — when Trae Young gloated on the MSG logo — Sunday night was an opportunity for the Knicks to show proof of heart.