New York Notes: Towns, Hart, Embiid, Nets, Johnson

Knicks big man Karl-Anthony Towns missed Wednesday’s overtime win over Philadelphia with a thumb injury. He has a bone chip in his thumb that he injured during a loss to Detroit on Monday, but plans to play through it, Peter Botte and Stefan Bondy of the New York Post report.

The thumb is also sprained, but surgery is not needed or expected either during or after the season, the Post duo added. Towns is averaging 25.4 points and 13.5 rebounds per game in his first season in New York.

We have more on the New York City teams:

• Josh Hart shouted unnamed Knicks teammates after recent losses for letting “egos” and “individual agendas” get in the way of team goals. Coach Tom Thibodeau said Wednesday that Hart needs to choose his words more carefully, Bondy writes. “I think often the next day after you watch the film, you put a microphone in front of somebody right after a game. And sometimes they might say things, we might all say things that we wish we hadn’t said , before you watch the movie the next day.” said the coach. “And then there is usually a pretty good reason why something has happened. So before you say anything, you should probably think twice.”
• The Knicks are lucky they didn’t go all in and trade for Joel Embiid when rumors circulated last season about the team’s interest in the Sixers center, Bondy means. They would have wasted their outstanding capital and other assets for an oft-injured center still owed $300MM due to his extension without injury protection. Of course, Philadelphia never actually made Embiid available.
• The games just get uglier for the rebuild and tank Netsas they suffered the worst loss in franchise history on Wednesday. The Clippers’ 126-67 rout was also one of the 10 greatest drives in NBA history, Brian Lewis of the New York Post notes. “This is not the time to point or deflect anything,” coach Jordi Fernandez said. “It’s everybody’s time to own, and I want to own first. The guys kept fighting; I don’t think they quit. And it’s one of those days when you don’t do anything right, you have not the right energy and togetherness. But you try and you just need a little more focus and all these things.” Cameron Johnsonwho could be moved before the trade deadline, missed the second game of a back-to-back with a sprained right ankle, adds Lewis.
• With the front office freeing up more cap space than any other team for next offseason and collecting draft picks in trades, Nets has the flexibility to make a franchise-changing move, Lewis writes for the New York Post (subscription required). The grand prize would be Giannis Antetokounmpo if he ever asks out of Milwaukee as the Nets covet the superstar forward.