The New York Knicks are in LA for another night. Tonight they’ll be up against the ambitious LA Clippers side led by none other than James Harden. The Knicks are playing a second leg of back-to-back games of their trip to Los Angeles. They come into this game after an agonizing 113-109 overtime defeat at the Crypto.com Arena last night. This loss brought their season record to 40-22, though they still hold onto the third seed in the Eastern Conference. Jalen Brunson was the star of the show against the Lakers.

The Knicks guard showed great heroics against LA with a stellar 39-point performance. However, the night took a devastating turn for the 28-year-old when he rolled his ankle in the later stages of the high-tension clash. Brunson had to exit the game due to the excruciating pain caused by the incident casting a shadow over his availability for tonight’s back-to-back matchup. There’s also a question mark over another star’s availability— big man, Karl-Anthony Towns. So, will the duo suit up for tonight? Here’s what we know.

New York Knicks injury report ahead of a much-anticipated clash against the Clippers

The Knicks have now suffered two straight defeats and are in much need of a win tonight at the Intuit Dome in LA. However, for grabbing a win tonight, they’ll need the superstar duo of Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns. While Brunson had an unfortunate exit from the Lakers game, KAT missed the team’s matchup against the Warriors due to a personal reason. So will the two play tonight? Well, starting with the big man, Anthony Towns.

He wasn’t available for the Golden State, after which, Dubs star Draymond Green without knowing the situation accused Towns of ducking his teammate Jimmy Butler. However, that wasn’t the case. Instead, it was to deal with the loss of someone very close to the Knicks star. KAT later revealed that he missed the game to be with his family and friends after the unfortunate demise of his family friend, Sarah Holtzman. “This is one of those moments where I had to be there for my family and be there for the kids that lost somebody really special to them,” Said Towns. Well, he’s now joined the team and even played in the Lakers loss.

So, he is available for tonight’s clash against the Clippers as he and his team look to bounce back. Moving on, everyone is curious to know Jalen Brunson’s availability after the concerning exit from last night’s game. Brunson rolled his ankle while defending against Austin Reaves and despite the injury, he showed incredible resilience taking his free throws. At the moment, he’s ‘questionable’ for tonight’s game and will be a game-day decision. This comes as a real shocker for the Knicks fans, as Brunson is having a great season averaging 26.3 points and 7.4 assists while shooting a solid 49 percent from the field.

However, there’s a sigh of relief for the New York faithful as the injury as per, NBA Insider Chris Haynes is just a sprained ankle and not as serious as many feared initially. This means the Knicks guard could make a return to the hardwood pretty soon. However, the Knicks will be without key player Precious Achiuwa. The power forward is out due to a hamstring injury. Achiuwa is a solid player for the Knicks and will be a big miss for tonight. Lastly, center Ariel Hukporti is also not available to play tonight as he continues his recovery from a torn meniscus in his left knee. This brings us to one question: who will be in the Knicks starting five tonight?

How will the New York Knicks star amid question mark over Jalen Brunson’s fitness?

While there is concern over Brunson’s fitness for tonight’s game, Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau will take a sigh of relief for the injury not much much worse. Furthermore, Karl-Anthony Towns is back in the setup to further help the team. Amid all of this, the Knicks HC will have to make a few tweaks to his lineup and get his team back to winning ways tonight. For this, he’ll require players such as Josh Hart and OG Anunoby to perform at their best.

So, here’s how they can start:

Ultimately, both teams seem to be in a slump currently with the Knicks losing back-to-back games whereas the Clippers have only one win in their last four games. So, it might be a close affair. However, a lot will depend on Brunson’s availability, if he’s cleared to play the Knicks might be too much to handle for James Harden and Co. Having said that, the Clippers can also pull off an upset. With both teams struggling to find consistency, tonight’s matchup could go either way. If Brunson plays, the Knicks have a strong edge, but if he sits out, the Clippers might capitalize on the opportunity.