New York Knicks superstar Jalen Brunson stayed on the court for 47 seconds during his team’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The All-Star point guard went down with a non-contact knee injury and did not return on Sunday. After the contest, it was revealed that Brunson suffered a knee contusion.
Brunson came off of a screen to take his first shot of the game but landed awkwardly and collapsed to the floor. He was carried off the floor, but deemed questionable until the third quarter before the Knicks ruled him out for the game. Injuries has caught up to the resurging Knicks this season with almost everyone in the roster getting through it.
The team has already missing a good number of key players due to injury with Mitchell Robinson, Julius Randle and OG Anunoby being sidelined. Despite losing Brunson on Sunday, the Knicks were able to keep their composure and beat the red-hot Cavaliers 108-97 to improve to 36-25. Both teams are a top-4 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Jalen Brunson has been on a tear this season leading the New York Knicks to a winning record having career-highs in points (27.2) and assists (6.6), while being the headliner of the team’s offense that is missing its second-best offensive player during the last two months.
During the month of February, Jalen Brunson was averaging a gargantuan 31.1 points on 46.6% shooting and 7.4 assists through 10 games, while he was carrying most of the offensive load for the Knicks.
Tom Thibodeau shares positive update on Jalen Brunson after Knicks’ win
After Sunday’s victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Knicks’ head coach Tom Thibodeau revealed that the X-rays on Brunson’s knee were negative and that the All-Star guard suffered a knee contusion. All things considered, a knee contusion is a relatively positive outcome for the Knicks, considering how bad non-contact knee injuries can be.
Jalen Brunson has a knee contusion, Tom Thibodeau says. X-rays were negative.
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) March 4, 2024
“They just did X-ray, everything was negative,” Tom Thibodeau said via New York Post.“I guess [it’s possible that he plays Tuesday against the Hawks]. It’s a knee contusion and everything was negative so we’ll see where he is [Monday].”
That said, New York might opt to keep Brunson out for the next game in order for him to be back at 100%. With the regular season coming to end, the Knicks do not need to take any risks on Brunson who has carried a great load this year. Jalen Brunson entered Sunday having played 56 of the New York Knicks’ 60 games in the 2023/24 NBA season campaign.
If Jalen Brunson is unavailable in the upcoming contests, then the Knicks will likely start backup guard Miles McBride, who played 47 minutes against the Cavs on Sunday. McBride finished with 16 points on 6-of-15 shooting along with 5 assists for a Knicks’ team.
“I feel fine honestly. That’s what I put in the offseason work for. I prepare my body for this,” McBride said, via the New York Post. “You never know what’s going to happen. [Brunson] should be fine hopefully, but got to be ready for anything.”
Jalen Brunson had to be helped back to the locker room after this play. Hope he is ok. 🙏
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) March 4, 2024
