Karl-Anthony Towns has big night as Knicks squeak out ugly win over Nets

Other than Karl-Anthony Towns around the paint and Josh Hart’s big rebound, there wasn’t much impressive about the way the Knicks performed Tuesday.

They were sluggish, the offense inexplicably disappeared for most of the fourth quarter and they were one Brooklyn sH๏τ away from their worst loss of the season.

But, in the end, the Knicks didn’t need style to topple the tanking Nets, so a 99-95 victory was completed on one of those NBA nights when the final buzzer offers the better team a big sigh of relief.

Towns finished with 25 points, 16 rebounds and six ᴀssists — though notably without a 3-pointer as he managed the injured thumb on his shooting hand.

The Knicks (29-16), winners of two straight after Monday’s win over the Hawks, led comfortably for much of the game but went ice-cold at the start of the fourth quarter, allowing the Nets to take a one-point advantage with 2:35 remaining.

Brunson followed with three straight buckets but missed a running layup that would’ve sealed the victory with 31 seconds remaining.

That allowed Brooklyn’s Cam Johnson to attempt a potential game-winner — a wide-open 3-pointer with 12 seconds left that bounced off the back of the rim.

Hart soared for the rebound, called timeout, and Brunson, who scored just 17 points in 39 minutes, hit free throws to clinch the win.

Meanwhile, Mikal Bridges’ return to the Barclays Center was uneventful and, like his Nets career, disappointing.

There was no video tribute for the former — albeit very briefly — face of the franchise. Instead, the Nets played a long highlight montage of Vince Carter, who is having his jersey retired Saturday.

The crowd was pro-Knicks but subdued.

Bridges, who was traded from the Nets to the Knicks for five first-round draft picks, went scoreless in the second half and finished with just 10 points in 34 minutes on 3-for-12 shooting.

The Nets (14-30) are the symbol of tanking. Their only meaningful game this season is Capture the (Cooper) Flagg.

They traded Bridges, their best player, before the season for draft capital and unhelpful players. They were playing too well early in the season, so they dealt two starters for tanking pieces.

Still, they were feisty enough to give the Knicks a scare behind 23 points and 10 ᴀssists from Russell.

New York is now 11-0 against the four worst teams in the East — the Nets, Wizards, Hornets and Raptors.

Early in the game, Towns appeared to aggravate his injured thumb.

He later airballed a 3-pointer, was quickly subbed out and rewrapped the thumb with white tape.

Towns played well but sH๏τ 0-for-3 from beyond the arc.

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