The Detroit Pistons walked into Madison Square Garden and stole home-court advantage on Monday night. Karl-Anthony Towns had 10 points and six rebounds on 5-of-11 shooting and did not score in the second half as the Knicks lost 100-94.
Coming off a Game 1 that saw him put up 23 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, four steals and two blocks you wouldn't have expected anyone on TNT's studio show to be very complimentary of him, but Inside the NBA always finds a way to surprise viewers.
While Ernie Johnson narrated the highlights from the Pistons win a clip of Towns making a wide-open dunk was shown which prompted Shaquille O'Neal to say, "Yeah, he played like a real big man tonight. I'm happy for KAT."
Johnson quickly pointed out that Towns went scoreless in the second half, which got an "Oh, wow" out of O'Neal.
Shaq on Inside the NBA last night as the Knicks-Pistons Game 2 highlights were being shown:
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 22, 2025
"He played like a real big man tonight. I'm happy for [Karl-Anthony Towns]."
Ernie Johnson: "[KAT] didn't score in the second half."
"Oh wow." 😭pic.twitter.com/oHIawqQc1N
If it sounds like Shaq might not have actually watched the game, well, who knows. He had apparently been consuming olive oil to the point where at one point he had to leave the set while on live television to use the bathroom. So at least he has a good excuse.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Ernie Johnson Calls Out Shaq for Complimenting KAT's Performance Based on One Dunk.
