The New York Knicks traveled to their home away from home on Tuesday for their first NBA Cup group play game against the Philadelphia Sixers. Joel Embiid's return and Paul George's 29 points weren't enough to keep the Knicks from the 111-99 win.
Philadelphia was without star point guard Tyrese Maxey, who recently injured his hamstring and will be sidelined for a couple of weeks. The Sixers haven't been able to escape the injury bug, which, unfortunately, happens when you employ two of the most injury-prone players in the league (Embiid and George).
The Knicks haven't had much injury luck over the past year, either. Mitchell Robinson underwent ankle surgery last December, returned at the end of March, and had surgery on the same ankle in May. He won't return until January at the earliest. New York was also without Precious Achiuwa on Tuesday. He hasn't made his regular season debut after injuring his hamstring in the preseason.
Miles McBride (left knee inflammation) and Cam Payne (hamstring) were listed as questionable before the matchup against the Sixers, but both were upgraded to available. Knicks fans needed that good news, but everything came close to crashing down in the second half.
Jalen Brunson avoids serious ankle injury in Knicks win over Sixers
Jalen Brunson rolled his ankle at the beginning of the third quarter and fell to the floor in pain. He limped back to the locker room and seemed done for the night.
Jalen Brunson injury beginning of second half pic.twitter.com/7SQt6rNGx5
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) November 13, 2024
Fans prepared for the worst, expecting Brunson to be sidelined for at least a few weeks, especially after tweets like the one below began circulating.
Jalen Brunson looks to have a lateral ankle sprain. Timeline to return is dependent on severity
— Dr. Evan Jeffries, DPT (@GameInjuryDoc) November 13, 2024
Grade I: 1-2 weeks
Grade II: 3-6 weeks
Grade III: 6+ weeks pic.twitter.com/b4cBXobWka
It turns out Brunson didn't need weeks to recover, just 15 minutes. He returned to the bench and subbed into the game a few minutes later.
Brunson is nearly invincible. He's had several injury scares since signing with the Knicks but hasn't missed much time. He fractured his hand against Indiana last season, but that was in New York's final game of the season.
Is Brunson's ankle bothering him today? Most likely. He's listed as questionable for tonight's game against the Bulls, which isn't concerning. It would actually be good for him to rest his ankle since it's the second half of a back-to-back. However, knowing Brunson, he'll do everything possible to play against Chicago.
New York is lucky that Tuesday's injury wasn't as serious as it looked. It would've been tough for the Knicks to stay afloat without him, even though he's struggled to start the season. You can bet he'll find a way to turn things around.