Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns has entered concussion protocol and did not play in Friday night's 115-104 win over the host New York Knicks after being involved in a car crash in the Minneapolis area Thursday.
The Star Tribune reports that Towns was headed to the airport when he was involved in the crash. Coach Ryan Saunders told reporters that Towns was with the team at Madison Square Garden, but it's unclear if he'll remain with it on the next stop of its road trip to Milwaukee.
"I spent a lot of time with him this afternoon," Saunders said before the game. "He was in good spirits. ... We're just looking forward to getting him back on the floor."
This was the first game the 23-year-old big man missed in his career. Towns' streak of 303 straight starts to begin his career is the most since the NBA started keeping track of starters in 1970-71, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
The 7-footer is averaging 23.1 points and 12.0 rebounds per game.
It wasn't immediately clear where the crash occurred. Minneapolis police said they didn't handle any incident involving Towns.
"Moving forward, we'll know more with it all," Saunders said. "At this time that's all we know."
Information from ESPN's Ian Begley and The Associated Press was used in this report.