New York Knicks They kick off play in the Emirates NBA Cup against the Brooklyn Nets at Madison Square Garden tonight, but will do so without several key players.

According to SNY’s Ian Begley, Karl-Anthony Towns will not play for the Knicks tonight with a knee injury. The team will also be without backup point guard Miles McBride, who is dealing with an illness.

While Towns is out, Knicks Jalen Brunson will start Jericho Sims along with Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart and OG Anunoby.

Through the first 11 games of the season, Towns averaged 26.5 points and 12.2 rebounds per game. Towns scored 46 points in his last game against the Chicago Bulls, but the Knicks were unable to win.

Towns was a game-time decision for tonight’s incident, so there’s hope his knee injury isn’t too serious. However, Knicks Already behind Mitchell Robinson and Precious Achiuwa, the team is running out of options in the frontcourt and needs a spark to stay healthy at that position.

With Towns out, rookie Ariel Hukporti could also see more exposure on the second unit as the Knicks look to win against the Nets.

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