No way Jalen Brunson would be MIA for Knicks
Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) takes the shot against Miami Heat guard Gabe Vincent (2) in the first quarter during Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinal Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on May 2, 2023 in Manhattan. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
You knew he was going to be out there.
You knew there was zero chance that Jalen Brunson was going to rest his sore right ankle Tuesday night, zero chance that he was going to be sitting on the bench with his team desperate to bounce back their Game 1 loss to the Miami Heat.
Both Brunson and the Knicks had to make a statement Tuesday night to stop the Heat from taking control of the series. So, an hour after the Heat announced that Jimmy Butler, Mr. Postseason himself, was going to miss the game because of the ankle he sprained at the end of Game 1, the Knicks decided to throw all their chips on the table and announced that both Brunson and Julius Randle would play.
The result was once again Brunson proving why he is one of the best free-agent signings the Knicks have ever made by scoring 30 points to lead the Knicks to an 111-105 win in Game 2 and even their second-round playoff series, 1-1.
With Knicks legend Carmelo Anthony cheering him on from the stands, Brunson became the first Knick to have a 30-point playoff game at Madison Square Garden since Anthony did it in 2013. He did it by brushing off a scary bad first half to score 23 points while shooting 5-for-7 from three-point range in the second half.
“Great leader. Great toughness. He never disappoints you,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said after the game. “Sometimes we fall short, but there’s no quit in him. He keeps everyone connected.”
Said Brunson: “I started feeling weird at the end of game one. [The ankle] got worse over time. I had to find a way to be mentally tough and just do it.”
It was quite a bounce-back performance considering that Brunson had gone 0-for-7 from downtown in the Knicks’ 108-101 loss. In Game 1. After the loss, Brunson blamed himself, calling his play “horrific.”
It should be no surprise Brunson put the pressure squarely on himself. He is the primary player responsible for the Knicks resurgence this season, the primary reason that for just the second time in a decade they are in the playoffs.
The Knicks didn’t reveal that he was having a problem with it until they put him on their injured list on Monday night.
The Heat certainly weren’t expecting another subpar performance form Brunson.
“I think Jalen’s great,” Kyle Lowry said. “He missed some shots for sure that he usually makes [in Game 1], but Jalen’s literally an All-NBA type player. Man, he’s changed their team around. He’s unbelievably good and he’s only going to get better. A guy like him can go off for 40, he can go off for a triple double, he can do everything.
“So we’ve just got to make sure we stay focused on him, trying to make it tough, make his looks tough and make his job a little bit harder. He’s gonna get his. We’ve just got to make sure that we’re just trying to make it tough on him.”
No one is tougher on Brunson than himself. Actually, make that no one is tougher on Brunson than himself and his father, Rick Brunson, a one-time Knicks player who is now a Knicks assistant. The two spent some quality time together on the court before Tuesday’s game. After almost every shot, the two would huddle and Brunson would critique what his son was doing.
Both smiled as they walked off the court. Brunson’s status had yet to be announced but everyone watching knew that he wasn’t going to miss this one.
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.
