New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns is expected to return to the lineup on Thursday against the Los Angeles Lakers, according to multiple reports.Towns missed the Knicks' game against the Gol

As the New York Knicks grapple with the meniscus injury to Ariel Hukporti and Mitchell Robinson is yet to make his season debut, the team clearly needs some added depth to their frontcourt before a possible deep run in the playoffs.

Despite the sensitive nature of Towns' absence, Lakers fans accused him of continuing a trend pointed out by Luka Doncic on Sunday night — opposing stars making sure to play against LA's historic franchise. "Bro was resting for the Lakers," a fan on X claimed about Towns.

However, some grueling news was revealed by Towns' girlfriend, Jordyn Woods. The reason for Towns' recent absence was unknown, though a recent announcement from Woods shed some light on the situation and the reason behind the star center missing a game.

The Lakers get great news just in time for a critical game against the Knicks. Read about the matchup details.

The Los Angeles Lakers are set to host the New York Knicks on Thursday night for a star-studded showdown. The Lakers are led by LeBron James, who became the first player in NBA history to reach 50,000 combined points on Tuesday night.

The Knicks and Lakers will square off on Thursday, March 6, at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. The game will broadcast live on TNT and available to stream on Fubo TV, Max (via Prime Video and Hulu ), Sling TV and DirecTV.

After missing Tuesday's game due to personal reasons, Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns is off the injury report and available for the start of the team's West Coast road trip.