Just when they pull you back in, they go ahead and totally fail to redeem themselves.
While the first sentence is a strange combination of two completely separate films—The Godfather Part III and Dumb and Dumber—it made sense to a large number of New York Knicks fans who arose Friday morning to the devastating news.
In the Knicks’ hard-fought 113-109 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on the West Coast, point guard Jalen Brunson walked gingerly off the court with a sprained ankle. Whether you stayed up late or caught wind of the injury happenings in the morning, Brunson’s toes caught the top of Austin Reaves’s foot while driving the lane.
Brunson, 28, was tremendous all night. He went toe-to-toe with the LeBron James and Luka Doncic duo, often singlehandedly keeping the Knicks in the game. New York played well for the majority of the night, owning a 90-80 lead with just 6:57 remaining in the game.
The Knicks’ captain finished with team-highs of 39 points (13 of 26 shooting) and 10 assists. Unfortunately, once he exited the game in overtime, New York could not keep pace with a suddenly 3-point-shooting Los Angeles squad.
For basketball players, this type of injury is the stuff nightmares are made of. In and around the hoop is where randomness happens, and sometimes, there’s just nothing you can do to avoid another player’s foot.
Worse yet, Brunson appeared to be grabbing his high ankle area, suggesting that this injury could be more serious than anybody would usually project.
Take note of where Brunson’s toes land on Reaves’s foot. This isn’t a classic side-angle turn that many players can shake off at that very moment.
It’s instead more of the high variety that could take much more time to heal.
It’s a shame, really, because the New York Knicks finally began to form an identity with Mitchell Robinson back in the lineup. However, they’ll have to move forward without Jalen Brunson for quite some time now.
How much time he misses still remains a mystery.
Mikal Bridges, Deuce McBride, and Cameron Payne are all now on the clock. It’s time for the three to put their big-boy pants on and get to it.
Perhaps a tremendous positive could emerge from this situation. Remember, in the 1993-94 season, John Starks missed some time down the stretch. Returning in time for the playoffs, backcourt mates Derek Harper and Hubert Davis, who stepped up in place of the injured Starks, carried that momentum into the postseason.
The Knicks’ second of a five-game West Coast swing is scheduled for Friday night in the same city against the Clippers. Tip-off on the East Coast is slated for 10:30 p.m. ET.
