Knicks’ Karl-Anthony Towns begins showing off his passing skills

It didn’t seem to fit in, not at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indiana Tuesday night, where even the Pacers home arena has a Hoosiers feel that fundamentals are paramount. It is the land of two-hand chest passes.

But really it might not have fit in at MSG either as you watched 7-footer Karl-Anthony Towns grabbing a loose ball, faking a behind-the-back pass  then delivering a perfect bounce pass to Josh Hart for a layup to finish the break.

That play was more fitting of the parks dotting New York City and not the Garden where the Knicks were hosting Atlanta Wednesday in the final game before the All-Star break,

“That was back to my park days,” Towns said. “So shout out to my childhood friends, man, Vick and Greg, they were the ones. I was watching them do it at the park. I was doing it at the park, playing at Rucker, that was just something that stayed with me.”

Towns put up 40 points Tuesday and handed out five assists, so it’s hard to say that the passes were the most memorable part of the Knicks win over the Pacers. But it was the style points on the passes that had jaws dropping.

“I laugh. I laugh,” Jalen Brunson said of watching Towns pull off point guard-like passes. “I just hope it works. That’s confidence.”

The scoring and rebounding were expected when the Knicks swung the trade for Towns just ahead of preseason, but as he heads off to a starting role in the All-Star Game in San Francisco Sunday along with Brunson, it is the passing that has been an unexpected pleasure.

The Knicks had 37 assists as a team Tuesday, which marked the fifth time this season they’ve posted at least that many and the 22nd time they’ve had at least 30 assists. And while the 3.3 assists per game for Towns may be solid for a center, it ranks sixth among his career averages.

Still, the style and the ability to find cutters halfway through his first season in New York, has surprised even Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau, who previously coached him in Minnesota.

“He’s probably a little better now because I think he has a much better understanding of the game and he understands when double teams are coming, where the holes are,” Thibodeau said. “So I think experience has really helped him. He’s always had amazing touch. He’s got guard-like skills. The way he shoots, the way he can put it on the floor. But he didn’t see the whole floor [before] the way he sees the whole floor now. When guys cut they know, if they cut and they’re open, he’ll hit them.”

“I think for any player who has been in the league a while the game starts slowing down,” Towns said. “From a rookie to now, the game keeps slowing down and you’ve seen a lot of defensive coverages and you see a lot of coaches and how they like to operate and you just try to find different ways you could exploit the defense and coverage. So the game is slowing down, and it’s all a credit to my teammates. It’s only possible if my teammates are cutting and making themselves available for a pass. “

There was another pass Tuesday that put that on display, Towns standing at the top of the key and whipping a no-look pass to Landry Shamet as he cut backdoor behind the defense.

“I think it’s just a trust,” Towns said. “It’s the trust they have in me to get them the ball when they cut and that’s been garnered in the building since Day 1. So a lot of these guys I’ve played against them . . . so they see how I like to get teammates the basketball and we’re just trying to amplify that skill of mine.”

Notes & quotes: OG Anunoby sat out his fifth straight game Wednesday with a sprained right foot. Tyler Kolek was also held out with a sprained right ankle. Deuce McBride suffered a rib contusion Tuesday but was available to play.