Within the midst of his 39-point efficiency towards the Los Angeles Lakers Thursday evening, Jalen Brunson suffered an ankle harm that knocked him out of the sport — and the remainder of the Knicks’ West Coast street journey.
Brunson was so pained after hurting his ankle driving to the ring in additional time that he stood on the free-throw line throughout the entirety of the next timeout. He stayed in to sink each free throws, then instantly headed to the locker room, lacking the tip of the Lakers’ 113-109 additional time win.
New York has 4 extra street video games within the subsequent 9 days, culminating in a nationally televised rematch with the Golden State Warriors on ABC on March 15. Brunson will miss all these contests and extra.
The Knicks can be with out Brunson after they face the 33-29 Los Angeles Clippers, the 32-29 Sacramento Kings (7-3 of their final 10 video games), the Portland Path Blazers (the NBA’s second-best defense since Jan. 19) and the Warriors, who defeated them in New York on Tuesday. It might imply 4 losses.
The Knicks have occupied third place within the Jap Convention since Dec. 15. They nonetheless have a 3.5-game lead on the Milwaukee Bucks and a 4.5-game lead on the Indiana Pacers, however that might evaporate rapidly if the Knicks stumble out West.
Ending fourth as a substitute of third could possibly be the distinction between going through the inexperienced Detroit Pistons within the first spherical of the playoffs or the Indiana Pacers, who knocked the Knicks out within the second spherical final season.
New York was already brief on depth and leaning closely on its starters, with Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart main the NBA in minutes per sport. Brunson is at present nineteenth within the league, and the longer he’s out, the longer that depth can be examined.
The saving grace for the Knicks? Milwaukee has to make its personal five-game street journey to the West Coast in 10 days.
