Knicks' Jalen Brunson expects to be on court if there's any way he can play

Knicks guard Jalen Brunson drives to the basket past Milwaukee Bucks center Brook Lopez in the second half of an NBA basketball game at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
When Jalen Brunson made his way from the locker room to the scorer’s table Sunday afternoon to report back in after the right shoulder injury, he never paused at the bench. He came out of the tunnel and made a beeline for the scorer’s table, no questions, no hesitation.
There was no sign of the shoulder injury, to the relief of 19,812 fans at the Garden, as he scored seven points in six minutes in the fourth quarter, putting the finishing touches on a 44-point performance.
So when the Knicks injury report before Monday night’s meeting with the Detroit Pistons called Brunson questionable, it was taken with a grain of salt. Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau was asked if the decision of whether to play or not was Brunson’s after the point guard had said he made the choice himself Sunday to return.
“Dr. Brunson made the call?” Thibodeau said, laughing. “Obviously a player has a lot of say, but the medical people also have to weigh in on that. We don’t want to put him in harm’s way. I think he knows his body pretty well. We got a great medical staff. We trust them.”
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What we’ve learned from Brunson is that if he can play, he will play and if he’s not Dr. Brunson then the actual doctors had better have a pretty convincing case to coax him into sitting.
While Thibodeau said that Brunson was a game-time decision Monday there was little doubt he would be back in the lineup and he was, going through his regular pregame workout and then the word came from the team that he was a go.
Brunson has missed just one game this season — New Year’s Day against Utah after playing through a questionable status with calf tightness in the two prior games.
“I feel great,” Brunson said after Sunday’s game, his standard line for any injury he has suffered.
“You can ask the doctors about that, but I felt good enough to get back out there. I got hit and went to the locker room, did some tests and came back out. Shoulder tests, strength tests.”
What Brunson did Sunday before — and after — the injury was lift the Knicks when they needed it. He came up with a masterful performance as the team was looking for life after the one-sided loss to Oklahoma City Friday and dropping four out of five games. He poured in 23 first-quarter points and the game was never in doubt after that.
But Brunson said afterward that he wanted the team to show the consistency that preempts the need for saving.
“There’s a sense of urgency to have energy and just be prepared,” Brunson said. “Be locked in on the game and we just went out there and did whatever it took. It was just important for us to go out there and play as best as we can.
“I was able to get in the paint and make some plays, but it could be different the next day. But the same mindset every time we go out has to be like that.”
“During the season you’re going through a lot of different things,” Thibodeau said. “So you have to navigate through everything and have the focus be on daily improvement. Some days you fall short, you have to come back with determination to get things right. So it’s a long season and the whole idea is to keep working each and every day with the thought in mind that you want to be playing best at end of the year.”
Notes & quotes: Jericho Sims was a late scratch with back spasms. Sims had not played in the prior two games with Ariel Hukporti getting the call ahead of him for backup center minutes. “It’s just game to game,” Thibodeau said. “Just where we are. Just looking at different things.” The Knicks have shopped Sims and sources have indicated he would be open to a move. Mitchell Robinson still has not been cleared to practice and Thibodeau said that sprinting remains the next step. “That’s the next step,” Thibodeau said. “He’s doing some light shooting right now.”