Ahead of a decisive defensive moment in Game 2 of the 2026 NBA Finals, Karl-Anthony Towns looked up to the heavens and said he prayed for help from his late mother, Jackie Cruz-Towns. After the Knicks beat the San Antonio Spurs 105-104 on June 6, Towns credite
Karl-Anthony Towns didn’t just want a stop. Before the Knicks’ final defensive play in Game 2 of the 2026 NBA Finals, he said he needed help from above.
After New York edged the San Antonio Spurs 105-104 on Friday, June 6, Towns joked in a post-game ESPN interview that, “I needed a stop.” On camera during the tense moment, he was shown looking up to the heavens before his team’s closing defense.
That defense mattered. The Knicks pulled out the squeaker when Victor Wembanyama failed to sink a jumper, with Mitchell Robinson getting the block.
During the interview. Towns explained that he’d prayed specifically to his late mother. Jackie Cruz-Towns. who died at age 58 in April 2020 due to complications from COVID-19. “It’s amazing as you go through life, you lose a parent, you just look for signs. I’ll take any sign I can get and I prayed to her strong before that possession,” he said. “A great player got a great shot, it just didn’t go in. It’s great defense. Shout-out to Mitch, shout-out to our team. But I take it as a sign my mom was here with me so I appreciate her so much.”.
Towns has repeatedly credited his mother with watching over him through the NBA Finals. Before Game 1. he told reporters he “just felt a calm and a peace that I know had to come from the woman above.” In Game 1 and now again in Game 2. the connection he describes isn’t just emotional—it’s tied to how he moves through pressure moments on the court.
He also tied those feelings to his mother’s journey. Towns speculated on what it would have meant for her to see him reach the NBA Finals because of her story as an immigrant. “It means a lot for my mother when she emigrated from DR [Dominican Republic] to New York,” he said. “Saw Madison Square Garden for the first time and saw the energy the city has for the MSG and the Knicks.”.
Back in March 2020, Towns revealed that both of his parents tested positive for COVID-19. His father, Karl Towns Sr., ultimately recovered, but his mother’s health declined and she suffered a stroke. After her death. Towns shared in a November 2020 vlog that he “pulled the plug” once it was clear she would not recuperate. “At that moment I pulled the plug and just let her pass,” he recalled. “They told me she may be alive another hour, maybe two.”.
He remembered Jackie drifting into unconsciousness as family members spoke to her remotely through video calls. “She was sent off with laughter,” he noted. Towns also described putting his own grief on the back-burner so his family could get through such an immense loss. “I think for me. I think if I was to say how am I coping and how am I healing from this. I’m trying to heal myself through others. ” he explained. “I’m trying to do as much as I can for my sister and my father. Trying to take care of my friends, and I’m trying to heal myself through them.”.
He added. “It’s helped. but I think that one day. and I know it’s creeping up. I feel it every day. it’s gonna creep up and I’m going to have to find a way to deal with it. actually. That’s why I wanted to do this [vlog]. I thought this would be therapeutic for me to admit that these things are real and how I feel is real and being able to try to find some normalcy. Life is a game, and I’m just playing one chess piece at a time.”.
For all the pain he’s described, recent months have brought brighter milestones. Towns made it to the 2026 NBA Finals, and he announced his engagement to Jordyn Woods on Christmas Day in 2025 after five years of dating.
In Game 2, with New York clinging to a one-point win, the stop he needed came—again—right when he said he was asking. This time, Towns didn’t frame it as luck. He framed it as a sign, and as a way of feeling close to the mother he lost.
Karl-Anthony Towns Knicks NBA Finals 2026 Game 2 San Antonio Spurs Victor Wembanyama Mitchell Robinson Jackie Cruz-Towns Jordyn Woods ESPN interview Dominican Republic Madison Square Garden COVID-19 prayer