A complete New York Knicks team barely beat the Jimmy Butler-less Miami Heat 111-105 in Game 2 on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden to tie the series at one game apiece.
Now, the Knicks head to Miami for Games 3 and 4 with their star point guard Jalen Brunson’s availability in doubt.
“Jalen didn’t do much today,” New York coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters following their Thursday practice. “[He’s] day-to-day.”
Jalen Brunson “didn’t do much” today at practice
Tom Thibodeau says he is day-to-day
Brunson was a game-time decision in Game 2 with a sore right ankle. He soldiered on and played tentatively in the first half, leading to a 1-of-6 shooting for only seven points.
But he became more comfortable as the game wore on. He exploded for 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting in the second half to rally the Knicks to the much-needed victory.
After the game, Brunson revealed that his right ankle started bothering him toward the end of their 108-101 loss in the series opener at home.
“I started feeling weird at the end of [Game 1], and I didn’t really think anything of it,” Brunson told reporters. “I was just ‘whatever’ and then felt worse over time. And yeah, just kind of had to find a way to be mentally tough. Go out there and do it.”
Brunson is the Knicks’ best player in this playoffs, averaging 25.0 points, 4.7 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 2.0 steals. He leads the team in scoring, assists, steals and plus-minus (plus-5.1).
Julius Randle Is Comfortable With Jalen Brunson as the Knicks’ Go-to-Guy
Brunson is the Knicks’ engine that revved up the team back to the playoffs after missing it last season.
Julius Randle, the team’s two-time All-Star and leader in their previous postseason run two seasons ago, has no problem with Brunson as the new go-to-guy, especially at crunch time.
“Very comfortable,” Randle told reporters after Game 2 when asked about his comfort level with Brunson having the ball late in the shot clock. “[Brunson] has been making plays all year. That’s what he does. He’s not afraid at the moment, and we’ve come to expect that from him.”
Brunson has been clutch all season long for the Knicks. He finished fourth behind Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox, Miami’s Butler and Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan in the Clutch Player of the Year race. He would have placed higher had he not missed 14 games in the regular season.
Brunson also placed third in the Most Improved Player of the Year race won by Utah Jazz’s first-time All-Star Lauri Markkanen.
Despite getting snubbed at the All-Star, Brunson received an MVP vote.
Joel Embiid is the first player to win the Kia NBA MVP Award with the 76ers since Allen Iverson in the 2000-01 season.
Complete voting results ⬇️
Jalen Brunson Breaks 10-Year Knicks Playoff Scoring Drought
Brunson became the first Knicks player since Carmelo Anthony in 2013 to have a 30-point scoring performance in the NBA Playoffs. Anthony twice achieved the feat in their 4-2 second-round loss to the Indiana Pacers that year.
Anthony was in attendance when Brunson duplicated his franchise’s playoff scoring record.
Once a Knick, always a Knick.
“That’s always good when you see a legend like that,” Brunson said of Anthony during his postgame interview. It was a special night the way the fans were. They kept cheering us on, and just to see all the guys who wore the Knicks jersey in the past come back, it’s always special. So it’s always really cool.”
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Tom Thibodeau Issues Injury Update on Knicks Star Jalen Brunson