Both Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson were listed as questionable for Saturday night's game against the Pistons, but only one of the Knicks' two leading scorers remained in the lineup.
Towns, who missed one game earlier this season with a right knee issue, was late added to the league's official injury report earlier in the day and was ruled out due to what the Knicks are calling a patellar tendinopathy in his left knee. There wasn't.
Brunson remained in the lineup even though he suffered a lower back contusion in a third-quarter collision and played the final 14-plus minutes of Thursday's win over the Hornets at the Garden.
Towns, a four-time All-Star center acquired from the Timberwolves in September, is averaging a team-best 25.2 points, just ahead of Brunson's 25.1 points per game.
Towns' 13.2 rebounds per game ranks second in the league heading into Saturday's game behind three-time Denver MVP Nikola Jokic (13.4 rebounds).
Towns missed the team's win over the Nets on Nov. 15, marking the only game this season in which the Knicks' starting five were absent.
Jericho Sims started that game at center but played just 18 minutes, while rookie Ariel Hukporti came off the bench to score seven points and block four shots in a career-high 30 minutes.
Sims started again Saturday night, but after missing the first 21 games with a hamstring injury and making his season debut Thursday against the Hornets, versatile big man Precious Achiuwa was benched for the Knicks. Gave another option from.
