Mar 6, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) shoots a free throw against the Los Angeles Lakers during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
Those New York Knicks fans who sought a Jalen Brunson MVP showcase were granted their wish on the most macabre way possible on Thursday night in Southern California.
Brunson brought the Knicks to the cusp of their most monumental win of the season, putting up a 39-point, 10-assist double-double in the latest attempt to stop the streaking Los Angeles Lakers. Alas, no Hollywood ending was in store for the Knicks, who saw a 13-point lead devolve into a 113-109 overtime defeat.
The scoreboard's yield was painful enough but further horror likely awaits on future injury reports: Brunson, the Knicks' captain and franchise face, left the crucial contest in the penultimate minute of play after rolling his right ankle on Austin Reaves' defense of an attempted equalizer.
While there was obviously no immediate diagnosis in the somber aftermath, the New Yorkers seemed to be preparing for at least some form of Brunson-free basketball, one that will likely begin on Friday in the latter half of a SoCal doubleheader against the Los Angeles Clippers (10:30 p.m. ET, MSG).
"It's next man up," said center Karl-Anthony Towns, per the Associated Press. "He's a huge part of our team. We've been playing with grit and have to go out there and do it again."
"It's a bummer of an injury," Brunson's longtime teammate and confidant Josh Hart added in the same report. "We expect him to be out for a little bit."
Had Brunson's potential temporary swan song been penned by a Hollywood scribe, the studio may have rejected it for being too on the nose: it was yet another brilliant bit of mastery from the first fostered superstar the Knicks have had in quite some time, albeit another heroic effort buried under hardwood heartbreak.
Thursday's game was another chance for the wanna-be contenders from Manhattan to make a statement on the NBA's national stage. Brunson certainly nailed the audition by contributing to 21 of the Knicks' 27 first period points, capped off by a buzzer-beating double that kickstarted a 13-1 run, one that gave New York a lasting lead.
Once that advantage, which summitted at 13, vanished in the penultimate minute of regulation, Brunson came through with an old-fashioned triple, as a successful and-one tied the game at 99-all. Working overtime proved to be no obstacle for Brunson, as his eight tallies in the fifth kept the Knicks in the game after fellow former Dallas Maverick Luka Doncic opened the session with five in a row.
Even the exit was quintessential Brunson: hardly able to put weight on the right ankle that landed awkwardly after his encounter with Reaves, Brunson sank equalizing free throws that kept metropolitan hope alive for a few more precious seconds.
"His mental toughness is through the roof," head coach Tom Thibodeau said amidst "medical team" coachspeak, per Steve Popper of Newsday. "It doesn't surprise me. The way he played the whole game, they were loaded up on him the whole game."
"That's him, that toughness aspect," Hart said of Brunson's final moments, per Popper. "So he's a competitor. Now obviously we've just got to wish him a speedy recovery and just keep it afloat while he's gone."
With his latest act, Brunson left his adoring public, of both supporters and colleagues, wanting more. While that's a brilliant mark for a Los Angeles showman, it's potentially dangerous on a championship-contending metropolitan basketball team.