Mike Brown wasn’t ready to throw in the towel.
That’s why Jalen Brunson was still on the court Wednesday when he rolled his right ankle with 1:54 remaining, and the Knicks trailing by 16 points, in the fourth quarter of their eventual 124-107 loss to the Orlando Magic.
“I’ve been a part of some crazy, crazy comebacks,” Brown said before Friday’s game against the Miami Heat at Madison Square Garden. “I’m trying to win the game. A couple minutes left. A stop and two 3s, and it’s a two-possession game. That’s all I was trying to do, is win the game.”
Brunson was ruled out for Friday’s game, two days after he suffered what a league source described as a Grade 1 ankle sprain — the lowest level of severity. Miles “Deuce” McBride got the start Friday in Brunson’s place.
On Wednesday, the Knicks were down, 115-99, when Brunson’s ankle rolled awkwardly on a drive to the basket.
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 begins Monday in Miami and includes a stop in Brooklyn on Nov. 24.
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.
Want more insights? Join Working Title - our career elevating newsletter and get the future of work delivered weekly.
