Mike Brown was not about to concede defeat easily.
This was evident when Jalen Brunson remained on the court during Wednesday’s game, even as the Knicks trailed the Orlando Magic by 16 points with just under two minutes left. Brunson’s determination came at a cost, as he rolled his right ankle, ultimately contributing to the Knicks’ 124-107 loss.
“I’ve witnessed some incredible comebacks,” Brown shared prior to their Friday matchup against the Miami Heat at Madison Square Garden. “I was trying to win the game. With a few minutes left, a stop and a couple of three-pointers could make it a two-possession game. My sole focus was on winning.”
Unfortunately, Brunson was sidelined for Friday’s game, following a diagnosis of a Grade 1 ankle sprain—considered the mildest form of the injury. Stepping into Brunson’s shoes, Miles “Deuce” McBride took over as the starting point guard.
During Wednesday’s game, the Knicks were trailing 115-99 when Brunson’s ankle twisted awkwardly as he drove towards the basket. The incident occurred as Orlando’s Wendell Carter Jr. was penalized with a foul, leading to substitutions including OG Anunoby, Karl-Anthony Towns, Landry Shamet, and McBride as Brunson attempted his free throws.
Orlando’s Wendell Carter Jr. was called for a foul on the play, and OG Anunoby, Karl-Anthony Towns, Landry Shamet and McBride all subbed out as Brunson shot free throws.
Brunson committed a foul — his sixth — two seconds later, then went straight to the locker room, appearing to walk with a slight limp.
“If I feel like our guys are still being competitive and still trying to play the right way and win the game, and I feel like there’s a chance, then I’m going to try to win the game,” Brown said of his philosophy on when to pull starters.
It’s unclear if Brunson will join the Knicks on their upcoming five-game road trip, and Brown said he hadn’t spoken with trainer Casey Smith about it yet. The trip is set to begin Monday in Miami and end a week later in Brooklyn.
The Knicks plan to evaluate Brunson on a daily basis. But Brown acknowledged there was a sigh of relief that Brunson’s diagnosis was mild.
“I don’t try to figure out much about the medical. I don’t know much about the technical terms,” Brown said.
“When somebody says [an] MRI or X-ray or whatever is negative, that’s a good thing. So when I heard, ‘Negative,’ I was like, ‘Great.’ But when they say Grade-this, Grade-that, I couldn’t tell you. But you never want anybody hurt, let alone somebody on your team and somebody in the caliber of Jalen.”
Brunson, an All-Star both of the last two years, leads the Knicks in points (28.0) and assists (6.5) per game this season.
His absence comes amid an acclimation period for the Knicks in their first season in Brown’s fast-paced system.
“This is a process,” Brown said. “It’s about having the next-man-up mentality. If this guy’s out, next man step up, and you don’t have to do anything extraordinary. Just do your job. No different for me. If a guy is down, I’ve got to do my job and not try to be too creative.”
FIGHTING WORDS
Heat guard Davion Mitchell raised some eyebrows with his take on Brunson’s absence.
“Him being out actually kind of makes them a little bit more dangerous, too, just because they move the ball more,” Mitchell said before Friday’s game. “They’re not really stagnant, they’ve got guys, defensively, who can really guard. Like Miles McBride, he can really guard.”
Now in his second season with the Heat, Mitchell played two seasons under Brown with the Sacramento Kings.
