Karl-Anthony Towns joined the list of Knicks absences.
He was out for their 111-99 loss to the Hawks on Friday night at Madison Square Garden with an illness. He was added to the injury report Friday and was listed as questionable.
He warmed up and was considered a game-time decision, but was evidently not well enough to play.
Coach Mike Brown said after the game that Towns was dealing with a stomach issue.
Ariel Hukporti was inserted into the starting lineup in his place.
He finished with eight points and 16 rebounds. It also resulted in more minutes for Guerschon Yabusele, who recorded eight points and four rebounds.
It meant the Knicks were without Towns, Josh Hart (ankle), Landry Shamet (shoulder) and Mitchell Robinson (load management).
It’s the third straight game and 12th this year Robinson has missed as the Knicks try to manage his left ankle.
After Wednesday’s loss to the Spurs, Brown said that Robinson will play one of the back-to-back games the Knicks have on Friday and Saturday — the latter against the 76ers at MSG. So, unless there is a change in plans, Robinson should return for Saturday’s game.
“Mitch has been great for us,” Brown said. “It would have been great if he was available, but he wasn’t. So the next guy has to step up, and Ariel ended up playing 28 minutes and he did a pretty good job out there. He had 17 rebounds, and that’s what you want from that center position. You want somebody who is going to go hit the glass and he did a pretty good job of it.
Brown did not have much of an update on Hart as the Knicks returned home from a three-game road trip. He is doing light court work and will be reevaluated next Friday.
Friday’s the fourth straight game he’s missed with an ankle sprain.
Jalen Brunson was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Month for December.
He played in 13 games in December and averaged 30.6 points and 7.1 assists per game on 47.5 percent shooting from the field and 40.5 percent shooting from 3-point range.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
