INDIANAPOLIS – Jalen Brunson will try to go.
The point guard is warming up with the intention of playing in Friday’s Game 3, Tom Thibodeau said about 90 minutes before tipoff.
Brunson is listed as questionable with a sore foot, an injury he sustained in the first quarter of Wednesday’s Game 2 victory over the Pacers.
Jalen Brunson left Game 2 with a foot injury, but returned to lead the Knicks to a win. Charles Wenzelberg / New York PostBrunson missed most of the first half with the injury but re-emerged at halftime to lead New York to a 2-0 series lead in dramatic fashion.
The shorthanded Knicks have handled several injury setbacks this season but Brunson’s availability is most paramount to success.
When he was out in Game 2, the Knicks were pummeled by the Pacers and fell into a double-digit halftime deficit.
When he returned, the Knicks took control.
He’s leading the NBA in playoff scoring at 35.6 points per game, racking up four straight 40-point performances in a streak that spanned the first and second rounds.
Brunson is paramount to the Knicks’ success in Game 3 and beyond. Charles Wenzelberg / New York PostWith a 2-0 series lead and OG Anunoby out of Game 3 with a strained hamstring, there was chatter online and on the airwaves about the Knicks punting this game to get Brunson – and other players – healthy.
“Hell no, you can stop there,” he said. “We ain’t punting nothing. We’re coming in here to win the game.”
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Brunson has played in 28 straight games.
He was on a minutes restriction in March after suffering a knee contusion and missing one game.
He missed two games in January with a calf contusion, a game in February with an ankle injury and another game in February with neck spasms.
Knicks guard Jalen Brunson #11 drives down court as Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard #2 defends during the first quarter of Game 2. Charles Wenzelberg / New York PostSince the playoffs started in late April, the Knicks have lost three rotational players due to injury – Anunoby, Mitchell Robinson and Bojan Bogdanovic.
They were already missing Julius Randle.
Only Anunoby has a chance to return in the playoffs, although the hamstring strains are tricky and the Knicks didn’t provide a recovery timeline.
ESPN reported Anunoby is “unlikely” to play Game 4 on Sunday.
