NEW YORK — The New York Knicks were already thin at center when they arrived at Madison Square Garden for Friday night’s interborough meeting with the Brooklyn Nets.

But their frontcourt took its biggest hit yet about 30 minutes before tip-off, when leading scorer and rebounder Karl-Anthony Towns was ruled out with a left knee injury.

The newly acquired Towns, who turned 29 on Friday, went from questionable to inactive after going through warmups before the Knicks’ 124-122 victory over Brooklyn.

“He went through shootaround and he went through his warmup, and he just wasn’t comfortable enough,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said.

The injury stemmed from a collision between Towns and Chicago Bulls star Zack LaVine late in the Knicks’ home loss on Wednesday.

The 7-foot Towns’ absence added another challenge for the injury-plagued Knicks, who have been without center Mitchell Robinson (ankle) and forward-center Precious Achiuwa (hamstring) all season.

Those injuries forced Jericho Sims into the Knicks’ starting lineup against a Brooklyn team that was also without its top two centers.

Sims played the game’s first nine minutes and contributed two early baskets, but the Nets repeatedly used screens against the fourth-year center to create open shots. That led to multiple 3-pointers by Nets guard Cam Thomas during a torrid 19-point first quarter.

Seven-foot rookie Ariel Hukporti subbed in for Sims with about three minutes left in the opening period and remained in the game until halftime.

Playing in his sixth career game, the 247-pound Hukporti scored his first NBA points and made multiple nice plays on defense, demonstrating an ability to rotate and delivering an emphatic block against Dorian Finney-Smith early in the fourth quarter.

Hukporti provided one of the night’s biggest offensive highlights when he cut to the basket, received a pass from Jalen Brunson and finished a tomahawk dunk, putting the Knicks up, 109-98, with 6:57 left in the fourth quarter.

He also corralled the game-ending rebound as time expired after Mikal Bridges blocked Dennis Schröder’s lay-up attempt that would have tied the score.

“(He was) huge, man,” Josh Hart said of Hukporti. “Energy was amazing. He was a presence on screens, protecting the rim, rebounding the ball, deflections, running the court.”

Hukporti — the 58th and final selection in the 2024 draft — played the game’s final 15 minutes. He finished with seven points, four rebounds and four blocks in 30 minutes.

“I was waiting for the opportunity for a long time,” Hukporti said. “Been working for it my whole life, so I (did not) take the opportunity for granted.”

The 6-10 Sims finished with four points and seven rebounds in 18 minutes.

“We had a lot of guys step up,” Thibodeau said. “Jericho, I thought, did a really great job starting. Ariel came in, gave us great minutes.”

Their contributions came against a Brooklyn team that ruled out its starting center, Nic Claxton, with a lower-back strain earlier Friday. He is expected to miss at least a week. Backup big man Day’Ron Sharpe has not played this season due to a hamstring injury.

Without them, the Nets reinserted 6-10 guard Ben Simmons in their starting lineup and used the 6-7 Finney-Smith at center.

The Knicks outrebounded the Nets, 45-37, and outscored them in the paint, 46-28. Hart led the Knicks with nine rebounds, while OG Anunoby finished with eight and Bridges — in his first game against his former team — added five.

The championship-hopeful Knicks acquired Towns last month by trading forward Julius Randle and guard Donte DiVincenzo to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Despite a slow start to the season for the Knicks, who improved to 6-6 with Friday’s win, the trade has been an early success. Towns, who hails from nearby New Jersey, is averaging 26.5 points and 12.2 rebounds per game while shooting 53.6% from the field, including 50.8% from 3-point range. He scored a season-high 46 points on Wednesday against the Bulls.

Towns has two days to get ready for the Knicks’ next game. They’re set to face the Nets (5-8) again at the Garden on Sunday night.

“Hopefully tomorrow, another day of rest, will be good for him,” Thibodeau said.

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