The New York Knicks prepared for their battle against the Atlanta Hawks with the thought of potentially playing without their star forward, Karl-Anthony Towns.
Leading up to the matchup, the Knicks downgraded Towns on the injury report to questionable, as he deals with an illness.
For Towns, he was suddenly in danger of missing his first set of action since December 18.
Will Karl Anthony-Towns Face the Hawks?
Although the Knicks saw Towns go through his pregame warmup, which is typically a positive sign, the team ultimately ruled him out for the matchup on Friday night, according to Fred Katz of the Athletic. The Knicks roll out a lineup of Jalen Brunson, Deuce McBride, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Ariel Hukporti.
For the most part, Towns has avoided setbacks this season. Leading up to Friday night’s game, the Knicks star has just two absences on the year.
His first absence came against the Orlando Magic on December 7. Despite missing Towns, the Knicks managed to take down the Magic with a 106-100 victory.
Towns would return to the court for two more games before missing his second matchup of the year. In a mid-December battle against the Indiana Pacers, Towns was ruled out. Once again, the Knicks squeezed out a win with a 114-113 victory.
Since then, Towns has been playing full-time, helping the Knicks maintain their status as one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference.
Over the past seven games, the Knicks have posted a 4-3 record. Towns averaged 20.4 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 2.0 assists, while shooting 39 percent from beyond the arc in that stretch.
Currently, the Knicks are ranked second in the Eastern Conference with a 23-10 record. They’ve won seven of their last 10 games. They are just 1.5 games out of the top seed, which is currently held by the Detroit Pistons.
Friday’s game will tip off at 7:30 PM ET.
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