In a moment that transcended basketball, New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns looked skyward before the final defensive possession of Game 2 of the 2026 NBA Finals, seeking guidance from his late mother as his team clung to a one-point lead.
The Knicks emerged victorious with a 105-104 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday, June 6, when Mitchell Robinson blocked a potential game-winning jumper by Victor Wembanyama in the closing seconds. The dramatic finish came after Towns, 30, had prayed for intervention from his mother, Jackie Cruz-Towns, who died at age 58 in April 2020 due to complications from COVID-19.
"I needed a stop," Towns said during a post-game ESPN interview, explaining the moment captured on camera when he gazed upward. "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. 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."
The emotional revelation underscores how Towns has consistently credited his mother with watching over him throughout the NBA Finals. Before Game 1, he told reporters that he experienced a sense of calm that he attributed to his late mother's presence, describing it as coming from "the woman above."
Towns has also reflected on what reaching the NBA Finals would have meant to his mother, particularly given her immigrant experience. "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 MSG and the Knicks."
The loss of Jackie Cruz-Towns remains one of the most painful chapters in the NBA star's life. Towns revealed in March 2020 that both of his parents had tested positive for COVID-19. While his father, Karl Towns Sr., ultimately recovered, his mother's condition deteriorated and she suffered a stroke.
In a November 2020 vlog, Towns shared the agonizing decision he faced as his mother's health declined. "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 that Jackie eventually drifted into unconsciousness as family members spoke to her remotely via video calls, noting that "she was sent off with laughter."
At the time, Towns acknowledged that he had temporarily set aside his own grief to support his family through the 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 that he anticipated a reckoning with his grief would eventually arrive. "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," he said. "Life is a game, and I'm just playing one chess piece at a time."
In recent years, Towns has experienced significant personal milestones alongside his professional achievements. He announced his engagement to Jordyn Woods on Christmas Day in 2025 after five years of dating. Now, with the Knicks holding a 2-0 series lead in the NBA Finals, Towns finds himself on the cusp of achieving the championship dream his mother never lived to witness—but one he believes she is helping him realize from above.