IT JUST GETS WORSE FOR KNICKS
Brunson exits with knee injury seconds into game against Cavs
It gets worse than rock bottom. A Knicks team already short its second-, third- and fourth-best players lost its floor general in Jalen Brunson to a freak knee injury on Sunday.
On the game’s second possession, Brunson awkwardly landed after a pullup mid-range jump shot and needed to be escorted off the floor into the locker room.
His injury compounded issues for a Knicks team already short its starting front court.
The Knicks entered Sunday’s matchup against the Cavaliers without Julius Randle (right shoulder dislocation), OG Anunoby (right elbow surgery) and Mitchell Robinson (left ankle surgery).
Randle and Anunoby have been out of the rotation since the Knicks’ Jan. 27 victory over the Heat.
The Knicks lost eight of their last 11 games leading up to Brunson’s injury against the Cavaliers.
Brunson earned his first career NBA All-Star nod and is averaging 27.7 points per game for the Knicks this season.
The 27-year-old Brunson’s legs split awkwardly as he came back down from his shot, and he staggered toward the 3-point line before falling to the floor. He grabbed his left leg and sat on the court while play continued.
Brunson briefly got up before limping to the sideline and dropping back down. He was helped up and assisted to the locker room in obvious pain and distress.
The Knicks only said he had a sore knee and that his return was questionable, but midway through the third quarter they announced he would not return.
Brunson, in his second season with the Knicks, who signed him to a fouryear, $104 million contract as a free agent in 2022, has been carrying the Knicks amid all their injuries.