Karl-Anthony Towns missed his second straight game because of a sprained right thumb, sitting out against his former team when the New York Knicks hosted Minnesota on Friday night. Jericho Sims started at center for the Knicks.

Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns has a bone chip in his right thumb to go along with the sprain he sustained in Monday's loss, sources confirmed.

The Minnesota Timberwolves will visit the New York Knicks in a cross-conference matchup on Friday's NBA schedule. New York is 27-15 overall and 13-7 at home, while Minnesota is 21-19 overall and 11-10 on the road.

As a reminder, these teams exchanged superstars in the offseason with Julius Randle heading to Minneapolis and Karl-Anthony Towns moving to the Big Apple. The Timberwolves lost at home Wednesday night to the Golden State Warriors, 116-115. New York won in overtime Wednesday in Philadelphia, 125-119, over the 76ers.

Julius Randle appears to be on increasingly thin ice in Minnesota, not closing as many games, not endearing himself to the fans, and his albatross of a player option is threatening the Timberwolves’ ability to retain Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Naz Reid.