Just when it appeared like the New York Knicks would get hit — again — with the injury bug in the NBA playoffs, Jalen Brunson showed up.
And New York would need every bit of Brunson’s scoring.
Brunson returned from a right leg injury to help rally the Knicks past the Detroit Pistons Sunday in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series, 94-93, to take a 3-1 lead.
Brunson finished the day with a game-high 32 points on 13-of-26 shooting, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range, and added 11 assists and five rebounds. Fifteen of those points came after Brunson sustained the injury and struggled to put weight on his leg in the moments immediately after.
During the play, which came with fewer than three minutes to play in the third quarter, Brunson was battling with Pistons guard Dennis Schröder for the loose ball. As both players lunged for it, Brunson crumpled onto the floor and immediately grabbed his right leg. Brunson slid over to the scorer’s table and lay there for a moment, in obvious discomfort. Eventually, Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns helped Brunson get to his feet, but Brunson was unable to put weight on the leg, and immediately fell back to the court.
Brunson was subbed out of the game and immediately went into the locker room, limping significantly.
Prior to the start of the fourth quarter, Brunson returned to the bench and had his right ankle re-taped. He re-entered the game with 10:14 to play.
The injury came amid a furious Pistons run during the third quarter that erased a 16-point lead New York held. Detroit outscored the Knicks 28-14 in the period and took a 71-64 lead into the final frame.
The Pistons eventually opened up an 11-point lead on a Malik Beasley 3-pointer with 8:35 left to play in the game, but New York ramped up its defensive intensity down the stretch and Brunson and Towns each hit massive shots to close the gap.
It all set up a closeout opportunity for New York in Game 5 Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.