The New York Knicks would not be in the Eastern Conference finals without star center Karl-Anthony Towns—but not everything he's done this series has helped his team win.

In five games against the Indiana Pacers, Towns has scored 35, 20, 24, 24 and 24 points. On the flip side, he has committed four, three, five, four and five fouls.

His fouls are often ill-timed, and on Thursday night got under the skin of Hall of Fame forward Charles Barkley—a player who averaged a full foul fewer per 36 minutes than Towns has in his playoff career.

"Why do you be getting them dumb fouls?" Barkley asked Towns point blank after New York sewed up its 111–94 Game 5 win.

"God only knows," Towns replied, chuckling.

"When you got your fourth foul, they took you out. (The Pacers) made a run," Barkley pointed out. "You gotta stop doing that."

Towns, to his credit, took Barkley's criticism in stride—even as he enjoys the most productive postseason of his career.

"You ain't wrong," Towns said. "It hurts my team."

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Charles Barkley Scolds Karl-Anthony Towns to His Face for His 'Dumb Fouls'.

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