It was still just the second quarter with the Knicks looking like a team on the back end of their first back-to-back set when Karl-Anthony Towns got the ball near the foul line and threw a shoulder into the chest of the Washington Wizards second-year seven-footer, Alex Sarr, shoving him under the rim, and then quickly and emphatically dunking on him and staring him down.

It was a spark on a night in need of one. And Towns gave them more than just emotion, pouring in a season-high 33 points to go along with 13 rebounds and five assists to lead the Knicks to a 119-102 win over the Wizards at Madison Square Garden. The win was the second in two nights and eased the memory of the three-game road losing streak that preceded it.

“KAT was a monster,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “He was a

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