Injuries continue to hamper the Knicks’ frontcourt.
Karl-Anthony Towns missed Wednesday night’s home game against the Philadelphia 76ers with patellar tendonopathy in his left knee, three days after the All-Star center came up gimpy during Sunday’s 118-105 loss in Boston.
Rookie center Ariel Hukporti got his first career start in Towns’ place.
Towns, 29, landed awkwardly on a dunk attempt with under nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter against the Celtics, then winced and grabbed his knee after getting back on defense.
He was in visible discomfort as he received medical attention on the bench, then disappeared into the locker room before checking back into the game with 4:12 remaining and the Knicks down by 19 points.
“I always want to play,” Towns told the Daily News afterward. “My teammates are out there fighting, and I’m gonna go out there and fight with them.”
Towns practiced Tuesday and was listed as questionable going into Wednesday’s game, with head coach Tom Thibodeau calling him a “game-time decision” less than two hours before tip-off.
But the Knicks ended up sitting Towns for the sixth time this season.
Acquired in an October trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Towns is averaging 24.8 points and a career-high 13.5 rebounds per game this season.
Towns underwent surgery last March for a lateral meniscus tear in that same left knee but returned in time for the Wolves’ playoff run.
The Knicks have used Towns at center all season with Mitchell Robinson still out following last May’s left ankle surgery. Towns played power forward the past two seasons with Minnesota.
Robinson is nearing his season debut but was once again ruled out of Wednesday’s game.
Towns is the latest Knick to miss time with an injury this month.
Forward OG Anunoby returned Friday following a six-game absence for a right foot strain, while guard Josh Hart missed the first two games after the All-Star break with patellofemoral syndrome, or “runner’s knee,” in his right knee. Hart returned Sunday.
The 76ers, meanwhile, were without their starting center, Joel Embiid, who has appeared in only 19 games this season as he deals with an ailing left knee that required surgery last February.
A second-round pick, the 7-foot Hukporti entered Wednesday averaging 1.7 points and 2.0 rebounds in 8.4 minutes per game over 24 appearances.
