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Jalen Brunson suffered a right ankle injury toward the end of the New York Knicks' 133-123 loss to the Boston Celtics on Friday night. Brunson has been the best player for the Knicks season, so an injury to him could be disastrous. Let's take a look at what happened to the 27-year-old star.
The Celtics were up by 12 points with around 20 seconds left. Julius Randle was inbounding the ball when Brunson accidentally stepped on Payton Pritchard's foot. He was trying to receive the ball from Randle but limped following the injury.
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau finally took Brunson out of the game, which he should have done much earlier. The former Villanova star was visibly frustrated because of the injury as he limped back to the locker room, with the game about to end.
Here's the video of Brunson's injury:
Jalen Brunson ended the game with 23 points, one rebound and four assists. He went 8-for-17 from the field and made 7-of-9 free throw attempts. His effort was not enough to give the New York Knicks the win against the Boston Celtics at the TD Garden, though.
RJ Barrett had 23 points, three rebounds and three assists, while Julius Randle added 20 points, five rebounds and three assists. Mitchell Robinson also had a bad fall during the game, only playing 18 minutes.
The Knicks failed to stop Derrick White, who had a game-high 30 points with three rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks. Jayson Tatum only had 25 points, six rebounds and five assists, while Kristapos Porzingis contributed 17 points against his former team.
Who will step up for the Knicks if Jalen Brunson misses time?
Jalen Brunson is the heart of the New York Knicks, so they could be in a lot of trouble if he misses time due to injury. The Knicks are back at home on Monday against the Toronto Raptors but start a five-game road trip on Wednesday.
Brunson is averaging 24.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.0 steals per game this season. Coach Tom Thibodeau will have to rely on players like Immanuel Quickley, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo to fill the minutes in the rotation if Brunson cannot play.
Quickley remains one of the best backup point guards in the NBA, while Hart and DiVincenzo are comfortable with whatever role they are given. Both can thrive as starters or off the bench.
