As the two teams battled for dominance, Carl Anthony Towns and Ausar Thompson were at the center of a heated exchange, with both players crashing into each other in a display of aggression that had the crowd roaring. The intensity escalated when Jalen Brunson of the Knicks took a hard poke at Tim Hardaway Jr., prompting officials to review the play for potential foul implications. It was a moment that underscored the stakes at hand, as Hardaway was left down on the court, having seemingly been injured in the fray.