The New York Knicks nearly extended their losing streak to three on Wednesday against an injury-depleted Sixers squad. A loss to Philadelphia would've been worse than the ones against the Cavaliers and Celtics over the weekend, which is saying something.
New York was without Karl-Anthony Towns, who awkwardly landed on his left knee on Sunday in Boston. He was a game-time decision and was ruled out not long before tipoff. No, his absence wouldn't have excused a Knicks loss.
Rookie Ariel Hukporti made his first NBA start in Towns' place with Mitchell Robinson still out. ESPN's Shams Charania reported on Sunday that Robinson is expected to make his regular-season debut sometime this week. He didn't play against the Sixers, but maybe he will on Friday in Memphis or Sunday in Miami.
Hukporti finished with eight points (4-of-5), two rebounds, and one block in 16 minutes. He didn't play more than that because he got hurt with over nine minutes to play in the third quarter and subbed out. Hukporti returned at the start of the fourth quarter but was only out there for a little over a minute before he left and was officially ruled out for the remainder of the game.
Ariel Hukporti hurt, leaves game pic.twitter.com/mlGXwCeDwu
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) February 27, 2025
Ariel Hukporti leaves Knicks win over Sixers with a sprained knee
Precious Achiuwa luckily came up big for New York, finishing with seven points, six rebounds, four blocks, and two assists. There's a chance he could be the starting center on Friday if Towns, Robinson, and Hukporti are out. Hopefully, KAT was sidelined as a precaution rather than because his knee was seriously bothering him.
Hukporti has played only 24 games this season and has been in and out of the rotation. He didn't play at all in Boston but played 19 minutes in Cleveland, the second-most minutes he's played this season. He was on track to surpass that number on Wednesday before getting hurt.
It's a good sign that Hukporti returned to the game after getting injured, but it's concerning that he couldn't stay out there for long. Fingers crossed that the injury isn't serious, not just for the Knicks' sake, but because Hukporti has shown a lot of growth over the past few weeks. Listen to what Jalen Brunson had to say about him.
Get well soon, rook!