Before Game 7 against the Pacers, New York Knicks fans anxiously waited to learn if Josh Hart (abdominal strain) and OG Anunoby (hamstring) would play. Hart asked to be taken out of Game 6, signifying just how much pain he was in. Anunoby missed Games 3-6. Both started on Sunday, but their presence wasn't enough for a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Anunoby shot 2-for-2 in five minutes before he exited the game and didn't return. He hit his two shots but could barely run up and down the floor. His return was admirable, but it was apparent the forward wasn't playable. Hart played through the pain for 37 minutes.
Somehow, Anunoby leaving the game (for good) with a little over seven minutes left to play in the first quarter wasn't the toughest injury blow of the game. New York had terrible injury luck all season long, and unfortunately, that continued in Game 7. Jalen Brunson played 29 minutes before he headed back to the locker room. He never returned.
Jalen Brunson (fractured left hand) will miss the remainder of the game.
— NY_KnicksPR (@NY_KnicksPR) May 19, 2024
Jalen Brunson fractures left hand in Knicks' Game 7 loss
Even if the Knicks had miraculously pulled out a Game 7 win, Brunson wouldn't have been available for the ECF because of his injured shooting hand.
This is probably where Jalen Brunson broke his hand pic.twitter.com/MhfVB6nHlh
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) May 19, 2024
The injuries piled up, and Brunson previously suffered a few minor injuries that, luckily, didn't keep him sidelined for long (or at all). With Julius Randle dislocating his shoulder in January, Brunson was the main reason the Knicks kept afloat. He earned his first All-Star nod and should make his first All-NBA Team. He and his teammates electrified the city.
Brunson left it all on the floor. As if it wasn't bad enough to already see Randle, Anunoby, Mitchell Robinson (ankle), and Bojan Bogdanovic (foot) down, the basketball gods took our beloved point guard, too. Hopefully, those five players (plus everyone else) can get the rest they've more than earned this offseason.