After missing Tuesday night’s loss to the Golden State Warriors due to personal reasons, Knicks big man Karl-Anthony Towns is not listed on the injury report and will be available Thursday against LeBron James and the L.A. Lakers.
The news was first reported by SNY’s Ian Begley.
“When he’s ready to come back, obviously we want him back,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said ahead of Tuesday’s game. “But he needs some time right now.”
The Knicks are listing Precious Achiuwa (left hamstring tightness), OG Anunoby (left thumb sprain) and Mitchell Robinson (injury recovery) as questionable for the game, per Begley.
Towns, a Piscataway, N.J. native and former No. 1 pick out of Kentucky, is averaging 24.5 points and 13.4 rebounds for the Knicks (40-20).
He went for 19 points and 16 rebounds in Sunday’s win in Miami.
The Lakers (39-21) have won seven straight and have moved into the No. 2 position in the loaded Western Conference after trading for Luka Doncic to pair with LeBron.
James made history Tuesday night when he became the first player ever to score 50,000 points between the regular season and the playoffs during a 136-115 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
“It’s amazing watching him do this stuff at this age, it’s just unbelievable,” Doncic told reporters. “Like 50K points, I can’t even explain how insane that is. He might get to 70K, you never know.”
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Adam Zagoria is a freelance reporter and Basketball Insider for NJ Advance Media. You may follow him on Twitter @AdamZagoria and check out his Website at ZAGSBLOG.com.