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The New York Knicks announced on Friday that All-Star Jalen Brunson is expected to miss at least two weeks with a right ankle sprain. Brunson sustained the injury during New York’s 113-109 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night. During the overtime period, as Brunson was driving to the basket and drew a foul, he crumpled to the floor in obvious pain. The replay showed that he stepped on the ankle of Lakers guard Austin Reaves, causing his foot to bend at an awkward angle.
Brunson managed to stay in the game to shoot his free throws, but exited immediately afterward and did not return. Here’s how the injury occurred:
Brunson has been pivotal in the Knicks’ success this season. Since arriving to the team in the summer of 2022, he has been at the center of the most successful period for the Knicks this century. So his absence is a massive blow to a Knicks team that currently sits third in the Eastern Conference standings. Brunson’s timetable means he’ll miss at least the next seven games, including Friday night’s matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Fortunately, the Knicks don’t have a terribly competitive stretch of games upcoming, with only three of the seven coming against teams with winning records — the Warriors, Kings and Clippers. But with just a 3.5 game lead over the fourth-ranked Milwaukee Bucks, there is minimal room for error for the Knicks as the season closes. The Bucks have an 8-2 record over their last 10 games, and are trending in the right direction with the last month of the season on the horizon. With Brunson sidelined, it could provide the perfect opportunity for Milwaukee to jump the Knicks in the standings for that No. 3 spot in the East.
After Thursday’s game, Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau spoke of Brunson’s grit despite leaving injured.
“His mental toughness is through the roof,” Thibodeau said. “It doesn’t surprise me the way he played the whole game. He still keeps battling and battling.”
Brunson’s absence leaves the Knicks without their leading scorer, and an adequate high-level ball handler, too. Thibodeau will have to lean on the likes of Karl-Anthony Towns to carry the offensive load in the meantime, which he’s certainly capable of, but in terms of someone who can be a do-it-all creator, the Knicks don’t have anyone waiting in the wings to fill that role.
“It’s a bummer of an injury,” Josh Hart said after the Lakers game.
No team relies on its starters more than the Knicks, and with Brunson out they’ll have over 35 minutes per night to fill.
The good news is that the injury wasn’t more serious, but for at least the next two weeks the Knicks will have to figure out how to stay afloat without their leading man.
