Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns walks off the court after the...

Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns walks off the court after the 124-119 loss to the Detroit Pistons in the second half of an NBA game at Madison Square Garden on Monday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke

PHILADELPHIA — The word became official about 90 minutes before game time, but was predictable nearly 48 hours earlier that Karl-Anthony Towns would be out of action Wednesday night as the Knicks took on the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center.

No matter how many times Towns repeated on Monday night, “It is what it is,” when asked about the injury to his right thumb, it was easy to see the pain he was in and that the injury was problematic.

So for the Knicks, the mystery wasn’t whether Towns would play but how would they adjust to playing without him. While the Knicks have had their starting lineup in place for more games than any other team in the NBA this season, missing one of their key pieces like Towns or Jalen Brunson is bound to send Tom Thibodeau scrambling for the playbook. The Knicks coach will be adjusting and shifting priorities and play calls. Jericho Sims, called upon to get the start, entered Wednesday with 54 points scored in 32 games — or just 10 more than Towns had in one game this season.

“Every player is different,” Thibodeau said before the game. “This is the league we’re in and night to night there’s a lot of changes. You get more comfortable understanding that there are going to be changes.

“You go into a game and you’re planning on, OK, they’ve had these guys playing the last four or five games and all of the sudden their lineup’s completely different. So now you have to change. You’re also dealing with your own team. Injuries happen. Guys get sick. That’s all part of it. And how quickly can you adapt? That’s the challenge we all face.

The Knicks might survive a night without Towns — particularly with Philadelphia again missing Joel Embiid (along with backup center Andre Drummond). The bigger question for the Knicks might be just how serious is the injury to Towns and how much time will he miss. The team called it a sprained right thumb and Thibodeau said, “I know he had some tests done. I’m not sure what the result was.”

And when Thibodeau was asked if that meant there was no broken bones he said, “Yeah, I’m under the impression that it’s day-to-day. So we’ll see where he is tomorrow.”

But a league source confirmed a New York Post report that there is a bone chip in the thumb. Yet the sprain is what sidelined him Wednesday.

This marked the fourth game that Towns has missed this season. In the first three the Knicks lost twice — to Detroit and Orlando — and barely slipped past the Nets.. With Sims starting and scoring four points, Brunson poured in 37 points. In the loss to Detroit, Sims was scoreless in six minutes and Precious Achiuwa took most of the minutes and Ariel Hukporti got 15 minutes. In the loss to Orlando last week the Knicks played perhaps their worst game of the season.

When Brunson missed his only game on New Year’s Day the Knicks still beat Utah and against the lottery bound Jazz it didn’t take any special effort to survive. Josh Hart did contribute a 15-point, 14-rebound, 12-assist triple double and Towns had 31 points and 19 rebounds.

“For me it’s all really just maybe I might be a little more aggressive,” Hart said. My job is to make sure these guys get open shots, get found when they’re open [and] get into a good rhythm. That’s kind of what I try to do every game. Scoring wise I kind of just figure it out.”

While no one other than Brunson may replace the offensive production that Towns provides, Hart was asked if it might open up the need for him to fire up more three-point field goals.

“Nah, that’s not my thought process,” he said. “If he’s not here that’s more shots for [Mikal Bridges] and OG [Anunoby]. That’s more so my thoughts. I might have to rebound more.”

Notes & quotes: Thibodeau was asked about the sentiment some players have expressed about a need to put aside personal agendas. “There’s a lot of challenges throughout the course of the season, and just stay focused on the daily improvement. Sometimes there’s going to be some frustration. I think oftentimes the next day after you look at the film, you’re putting a mic in front of someone right after a game. Sometimes they may say things, we all may say things that we wish we had not said until you watch the film the next day. And then there’s usually a pretty good reason why something occurred. So before you say something, you probably should think.”

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