Karl-Anthony Towns is missing his late mother, Jacqueline Cruz-Towns, during the NBA Finals, but he knows she’s there with him in spirit. As the New York Knicks continue to face off against the San Antonio Spurs, Towns has paid tribute to his late mother on several occasions throughout the NBA Finals games. In April 2020, Towns announced that his mother had passed away due to complications related to the coronavirus. At the time, the basketball player was a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Following the death of Towns’ mother, the NBA team shared the following statement from the family. “Jackie, as she was affectionately known among family and friends, had been battling the virus for more than a month when she succumbed on April 13th,” the statement said. “Jackie was many things to many people — a wife, mother, daughter, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend. The matriarch of the Towns family, she was an incredible source of strength; a fiery, caring, and extremely loving person, who touched everyone she met.” A month prior to his mother’s death, Towns had revealed that both of his parents had contracted the coronavirus. His father was later sent home and instructed to quarantine there. However his mother was admitted to the hospital and placed on a ventilator. Below, see the various ways Towns has been honoring his mother at the NBA Finals. After a weeks-long battle with COVID-19, Jacqueline Cruz, the mother of Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns, died Monday as a result of the virus, the Wolves said. She was 59. (Photo by Brian Peterson/Star Tribune via Getty Images) Towns felt his mother’s ‘presence’ at Game 1 During a post-game interview with ESPN, Towns revealed that he felt his mother’s presence during the first game of the NBA Finals. “I don’t know what it was, but I just felt a calm and a peace that I don’t know, had to be coming from the woman above. So, I felt really confident about today. I felt good,” he said. Towns went on to say how he felt like he was “seeing her in the stands.” “It was really fun and it was really comforting because you know, game one of the NBA Finals you’re told how the pressure is going to be and (how) everything is. And I don’t know, it felt like a certain presence was here that was very comforting and very loving,” he said. Towns said losing his mother helped him prepare for the pressure of his first NBA Finals During a separate interview with ESPN, Towns was asked how often he has felt his mother’s presence during the NBA Finals games. The basketball player went on to describe how losing his mother has shaped his life perspective. “If someone hasn’t lost parents, it’s a different feeling. It’s kind of unexplainable. I’m always looking for signs. I pray, I go to sleep and I have a dream with her or just something that resonates with her. And, you know, I always feel her presence. I feel her love. I feel her grace. I feel her patience. I feel her smile,” he said. Towns said his mother’s presence “comforts” him in challenging moments, like when the whole world is watching you in the NBA Finals. “I know what it is to have a lot at stake. I know what it is to fail in those moments. And not with a basketball in my hand. These moments you talk about of high pressure that shake humans and shake people in those moments, I’ve seen too much in a different aspect that you know, just it’s basketball. The other things I dealt with is real life,” he said. Towns is giving it his all in the NBA Finals for his mother Even though she’s not here physically to cheer him on, Towns knows his mother is watching him play in the NBA Finals and he wants to make her proud. “I do it for my mother’s country. I do it for everybody in Dominican Republic. I do it for everyone in the city that welcomed my mother when she immigrated over. I do it for all my family in New Jersey that allowed me to be raised and allowed me to love this game of basketball and allowed me to be a kid with my mother and enjoy those times,” he said during an interview with ESPN. Towns got a tattoo in his mother’s honor While speaking with ESPN after the second game of the NBA Finals, Towns said losing a parent “strengthens you beyond measure.” “That’s why I got Philippians 4:13 and the date (of my mother’s death) tattooed on my neck. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” he said. Towns went on to say he was “strengthened” when he lost his mother and was inspired to get a tattoo of the Bible verse. “I didn’t know the significance it would have in my life when I became an adult. But what I do know is that I truly can do anything when I walk in faith, when I walk with the angels beside me, I feel anything’s possible. I feel nothing’s impossible,” he said. Towns often raises his hands up after games in honor of his mother While speaking with ESPN after the second game of the NBA Finals, Towns reflected on a special moment where he was caught on camera looking to the sky and blowing a kiss to his late mother. The NBA player said anyone who has lost a parent looks for “signs” that they’re still there with them. “I’ll take any sign I can get. And I prayed to her strong before that possession (during the game),” he said. Towns said he felt his mother’s presence, as though she was guiding him during the game. “I take it as a sign. My mom is here with me. So I appreciate her so much,” he said. This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY: Claire Sullivan Saw the Future in 9th Grade and Brought it to Her Wedding 10 Years Later When Weddings Met the Knicks: The ‘Emergency, 12th Hour Meetings’ People are Having to Adjust Their Parties for Game 5 of the NBA Finals The World Cup Will Spread Cheer — and Germs. These Infectious Diseases Are a Risk This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser. ...read more read less