Jalen Brunson was the dominant force in the Knicks’ big win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday scoring 44 points in just 29 minutes, but he had the Madison Square Garden crowd holding its breath when the star guard walked back to the locker room early in the third quarter favoring his right shoulder.
Brunson is dealing with “just a little bit of a stinger,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said after New York’s 140-106 victory and struck an optimistic tone that the injury is not a serious one.
“Got checked out, he was fine,” the head coach said, adding about his availability for Monday’s game, “We’ll see how he responds, but he said he felt fine.”
When asked in the locker room if he believed he would be able to suit up to face the Detroit Pistons, Brunson – who set the record for points scored by a Knick while playing fewer than 30 minutes – gave a mischievous answer: “I guess you’ll have to find out when the injury report comes out.”
The injury had the chance to derail what had been a tremendous night for the Knicks’ captain, which began with 23 points in the opening quarter coming off a dispiriting loss to Oklahoma City on Friday.
“There was just a sense of urgency to just have energy, be prepared, be locked in on the game,” Brunson said. “And it was just important for us to go out there and play as the best we can.”
The Knicks’ 13-point halftime lead quickly jumped to 17 under a minute into the third and 23 less than a minute after that, with Brunson accounting for five of those points (to give him 32 in the game) and an assist (his fifth).
On the next possession, Brunson drove down the center of the lane and went up for a left-handed layup while being contested by Milwaukee big man Brook Lopez and guard AJ Green. After Lopez swatted at the attempt, the guard began to grab for his right shoulder soon after missing the floater and stayed down at the end of the court as the play advanced the other way. An offensive foul allowed Brunson to exit the game and he went straight to the Knicks’ locker room.
He would return with 3:34 left in the quarter and knocked down a pair of shots – the second a step-back three over the outstretched arm of Giannis Antetokounmpo. And he started the fourth still hot: draining a step-back three to push the Knicks’ lead to 20.
Brunson said that he decided to re-enter the game when asked if he had to be cleared by team doctors to return.
“I think it’s inspiring,” Thibodeau said of Brunson returning after the injury. “A great leader unites and inspires.”
And Brunson’s selflessness was something the head coach appreciates.
“He’s such a self-made guy,” Thibs said. “His talent speaks for itself, you can’t do those things without great talent, but to also have the humility that he has. And for him, he just wants to win. That’s the most important [thing]. If Jalen scores two points and we win, he’s as happy as if he scores 44 and we win
“And that’s the beauty of his game: He’ll adjust to whatever is needed. If he’s being double-teamed he’ll just make the plays, if [Karl-Antony Towns] has it going or OG [Anunoby] has it going or Mikal [Bridges], he’s gonna search them out.”
Brunson said the way they saw the Bucks’ defense he was “able to get into the paint and make plays,” but “it could be different the next day.”
To go along with his 44 points on 16-for-26 shooting (5-for-10 from three, 7-for-8 from the line) he added six assists, five rebounds and finished a plus-23 in 29 minutes.
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