Ben Simmons sat out the Nets’ game against the Knicks on Saturday while suffering left knee soreness. Coach Jacque Vaughn said he did not have any information on whether an MRI exam would be needed for Simmons, who is being regarded as day-to-day.

That is about all the head coach would say definitively about the enigmatic Simmons, who was declared out, for what became a 122-115 Nets win at Barclays Center, a few hours before tipoff after having been listed as “questionable” a day prior.

After Simmons left the Nets’ previous game, a home loss to the Pistons on Thursday, in the third quarter, the team cited the same left knee soreness that had kept him out of several contests this season. Simmons felt the soreness on the tail end of a back-to-back in which he played in both games, which was the same scenario the last time Simmons’ knee barked in late November. 

After the loss to the Pistons, Vaughn was asked whether there was concern about Simmons continuing to play on consecutive days, and he responded vaguely but perhaps pointedly. He said the goal is for “everyone to play every game and to do what’s necessary to be prepared to play every game” and, “You just have to give credit to the guys who were prepared to play.”

Asked Saturday whether Simmons has been prepared to play in every game, Vaughn declined to answer specifically. He said he wants to “pen — not pencil” players in every single game, and wants each one of his players to expect to be available every game.

So, has Simmons not adopted that mindset?

“To pinpoint one guy, I don’t think that’s fair,” Vaughn said before the Nets beat the Knicks for a ninth straight time. “What I do do is I address the team, and I’ll ask them to take advantage of today. Take advantage of your recovery day. … Prepare yourself to be ready, depended on, on a nightly basis and get penned into the lineup.”

Vaughn has been more direct regarding other players, including praising the off-court work of Nic Claxton. Vaughn publicly commended the Nets center Thursday, saying he recently found Claxton in a cold tub after a game talking with Royce O’Neale about being ready for the next day’s game.

With Simmons, answers have been harder to come by.

Simmons, who missed all of last season, citing his mental health and a back issue for which he had surgery in the offseason, had been expected to take on a bigger offensive load following the Jan. 8 injury to Kevin Durant.

But Simmons was unable to morph into the Simmons of old — the attacking maestro who could take over games without much of a jump shot with the 76ers. With the Nets, Simmons has looked timid and too often has been a non-factor offensively. In seven games since Durant sprained his right MCL, Simmons averaged six points (on just 5.7 shot attempts per game) and 8.3 assists.

While Claxton and Kyrie Irving accepted larger roles, both starring and buoying the offense, Simmons’ struggles helped the Nets lose six of their first eight games without Durant.

Adding to the Simmons haze was the manner in which he exited the game Thursday. He was again out of sorts offensively, going 0-for-3 and held scoreless, before Detroit’s Jaden Ivey appeared to hit him in the face incidentally. Shortly after that, Simmons headed for the locker room, the Nets announcing the injury as knee soreness.

“Purely the knee” prompted Simmons’ exit, Vaughn said.

Without Durant and Simmons, the Nets responded against the Knicks, even if they were hampered. Though Simmons has looked like a shell of himself with the ball, he still has looked like a star on defense, able to lock up just about any opponent.

Without the 7-foot Durant, the Nets’ defense has grown holes while using lineups that have been too small and too slow. The loss of Simmons, no matter for how long, figures to exacerbate the problem.

Vaughn did not want to focus on the players who were not available, though, not wanting his team to have any excuses.

“I am not guaranteed this next hour, this next day, and I want our team to approach it that way,” Vaughn said.