Getty Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks dribbles as Anthony Black #0 and Wendell Carter Jr. #34 of the Orlando Magic defend.
New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson returned with aplomb after only skipping one game due to a knee contusion in a Wolverine-like fashion.
“You have nothing but respect for him because he does everything he can to get back,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters after Brunson scored 26 points in his return. “Two workouts a day. He’s on the floor. He’s pushing himself in practice. He gets there early, stays late. Goes through practice. Comes back at night, gets treatment. Works out again. Then gets himself ready. Doesn’t take any days off, and that’s why he can do the things he does.”
Brunson hit 11 of 19 shots, showing no ill effects of the knee injury to lead the Knicks to a 98-74 statement win over the Orlando Magic on Friday, March 8, and reclaim the fourth seed in the East.
“I thought of a thousand different situations of what it could have been and I’m just glad it wasn’t,” Brunson told reporters of his knee injury.
“I thought of a 1,000 different situations of what it could’ve been and I’m just glad it wasn’t.”
Jalen Brunson talks about his injury in Cleveland:
When Brunson limped out of the court in the opening moments of their March 3 victory in Cleveland, the Knicks and their fan base held their collective breath.
They heaved a sigh of relief when Brunson’s MRI came back clean, dodging a serious injury that would have been a blow to an already depleted roster.
Brunson played only 29 minutes but he had no trouble scoring at will against the Magic’s defense who sorely missed their top perimeter defender Jalen Suggs (thigh).
Jalen Brunson Predicted to Get All-NBA Third Team Nod
Bleacher Reports’ Dan Favale penciled Brunson to be in the All-NBA Third Team with Golden State‘s Stephen Curry, Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton, Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards and Los Angeles Lakers‘ Anthony Davis.
It’s also not Brunson’s main source of appeal.
Scant few players can put up around 28 points and seven assists per game on above-average true shooting with a ludicrously low turnover rate while working inside such confined offensive parameters,” Favale wrote.
Brunson is averaging career highs across the board — 27.2 points, 6.5 assists and 3.7 rebounds on 41% 3-point shooting.
Knicks’ Statement Win
With the Magic winning their first three meetings this season, the Knicks came out firing and locked in on defense to avoid a sweep.
They made 8 of their 9 shots from beyond the arc in a sizzling start in the wire-to-wire win. But equally impressive was their defense.
They held the Magic to 34.2% from the field and 23.1% from the 3-point line to allow the fewest points a team has scored this season.
It was also the fewest points the Knicks have allowed since holding the Washington Wizards to 65 points on April 13, 2012. It also marked the fewest points the Knicks have allowed under Thibodeau since they held the Boston Celtics to 75 on January 17, 2021.
The win pushed the Knicks (37-26) back to fourth place in the Eastern Conference, sending a statement to the young Magic (37-27) team, who dropped to fifth after their five-game winning streak ended.