Basketball

Knicks star Jalen Brunson fractures hand as injuries doom New York in NBA playoffs

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4 months ago

May 19, 2024

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$Knicks star Jalen Brunson fractures hand as injuries doom New York in NBA playoffs$

NEW YORK — The injuries kept piling up for the New York Knicks right through their final game of the season.

Knicks star guard Jalen Brunson sustained a fractured left (shooting) hand in Game 7 of Indiana’s 130-109 victory over New York in the Eastern Conference semifinals Sunday. He left the game with 3:02 remaining in the third quarter and did not return. He said the injury occurred when a Pacers player swiped at the ball in the third quarter.

Brunson, who starred in the playoffs, finished with 17 points on 6-of-17 shooting.

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The Knicks were already beat up – missing several key players, including two starters. “This group didn’t make excuses for anything,” Brunson said.

Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson and Bojan Bogdanovic were unavailable, and OG Anunoby missed Games 3, 4, 5 and 6 with a strained left hamstring. Anunoby tried to play in Game 7 but was limited to five minutes, unable to move at the speed required for a playoff game. Josh Hart was listed as questionable for Game 7 with a strained abdominal muscle. He had 10 points, on 3-for-9 shooting, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals.

“We don’t want to see the injuries we had, but that’s part of it,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said.

Thibodeau is a big believer in the next man up theory but he acknowledged, “I thought guys gave everything they had and that’s all you can ask. … There was nothing left to give at the end.”