The Knicks' Jalen Brunson goes up for a dunk during...

The Knicks' Jalen Brunson goes up for a dunk during the second half of an NBA game against the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday in Philadelphia. Credit: AP/Matt Slocum

PHILADELPHIA — Karl-Anthony Towns was out of action but on the bench Wednesday night — although a little bit in disguise as he spent the first half in a bright green Philadelphia Eagles sweater and after halftime returned to the bench with a Knicks shirt on.

But just how long he could be sidelined, exactly what the injury is and maybe most important: How can the Knicks handle even a one-game absence by their starting center? Those are bigger questions than his choice of clothing.

Playing without Towns who suffered a sprained right thumb Monday against Detroit, the Knicks found themselves in a battle to the final buzzer against a struggling Philadelphia 76ers squad. They survived with a 125-119 overtime victory at Wells Fargo Center.

To get through this it took some late-game heroics as the Knicks saw a 16-point lead disappear. Coming to the rescue was Jalen Brunson, who had 38 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter and overtime. Josh Hart delivered a triple-double of 10 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists. Mikal Bridges provided an early boost and finished with 23 points.

“I thought we got good center play from both Jericho [Sims] and Precious [Achiuwa] with KAT being out,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “And I thought OG [Anunoby] and Mikal were terrific with tough assignments with Paul George and [Tyrese] Maxey. And [it was] just timely shots and big plays.

“And Jalen was incredible with his shot-making and didn’t let the game get away from us. When we needed a big bucket, he got it. And then what can you say about Josh? He willed that game at the end. The hustle plays, they saved the game for us. Big-time hustle, tie it up, steal, loose ball, layup, those are big-time plays.”

“We were kind of on our heels,” Hart said. “Got to give them credit. They came with great energy in that second half, knocking down shots, playing fast, getting stops. So the biggest thing is try to find ways to gain momentum. That’s kind of all that’s going through my mind at that time.”

After Maxey and George combined for 24 third-quarter points, pulling the 76ers within one in the final minute of the period, Brunson delivered a shot in traffic to up the lead to three. But Jeff Dowtin banked in a three at the buzzer to send the teams to the fourth quarter tied at 85.

The 76ers never could take a lead, falling behind again by six with just over four minutes to play. But they fought back one more time, tying the score at 102 and finding themselves with the ball and a chance for the lead.

Maxey misfired on a three and Hart tied up Guerschon Yabusele, forcing a jump ball. He lost that, but then stole the ball from Kelly Oubre, racing ahead for a dunk to push the Knicks up 104-102. Maxey missed on a drive and Anunoby buried a three and the Knicks were up by five with 1:26 remaining.

Maxey closed the gap to two again with a tough fadeaway jumper, drawing a foul on the play with 36.2 seconds remaining.

But Brunson worked his way through the defense, dropping in a floater with 18 seconds left. A pair of Maxey free throws closed the gap to two and Brunson turned the ball over. Maxey then blew by the defense and Achiuwa recovered to block it but was called for goaltending with 3.2 seconds remaining. Anunoby’s last-second attempt missed and the game went to overtime.

Anunoby opened the extra period with a driving dunk on a feed from Brunson and Brunson followed with a three-point field goal. Brunson was then fouled on a three attempt, draining all three shots for an eight-point lead just 1:44 into the overtime.

The Knicks might survive a night without Towns — particularly with Philadelphia again missing Joel Embiid (along with backup center Andre Drummond). This marked the fourth game that Towns has missed this season and in the first three the Knicks lost to Detroit and Orlando and barely slipped past the Nets.

Achiuwa came up with a number of big plays in overtime. He had a block, a bucket and a pretty feed while breaking through the trapping 76ers defense. He finished with 10 points and six rebounds in 30 minutes.

“It’s always the next-man-up mentality,” Brunson said. “Regardless of who is out. And for the most part we’re always ready to go ... and we have the utmost confidence of everybody in this locker room. “

HOW TO WATCH KNICKS GAMES

  • Knicks games can be streamed through the Gotham Sports App.
  • For households in Altice’s geographical footprint, MSG also can be accessed via Verizon Fios, DirecTV, DirecTV Stream and fuboTV. 
  • More details here.
SUBSCRIBE

Unlimited Digital AccessOnly 25¢for 6 months

ACT NOWSALE ENDS SOON | CANCEL ANYTIME