The New York Knicks’ season came to a painful end with injuries continuing to mount right up to their final game.
In Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, Knicks star guard Jalen Brunson sustained a fractured left hand, which is his shooting hand, during Indiana’s 130-109 victory over New York. Brunson exited the game with 3:02 remaining in the third quarter and did not return. He explained that the injury occurred when a Pacers player swiped at the ball in the third quarter.
Brunson, who had been a standout throughout the playoffs, finished the game with 17 points on 6-of-17 shooting.
The Knicks were already dealing with a series of injuries to key players. “This group didn’t make excuses for anything,” Brunson said. The team was without Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson, and Bojan Bogdanovic, while OG Anunoby had missed Games 3 through 6 with a strained left hamstring. Anunoby attempted to play in Game 7 but was limited to just five minutes, unable to move at the necessary pace for a playoff game. Additionally, Josh Hart, who was listed as questionable with a strained abdominal muscle, contributed 10 points on 3-for-9 shooting, along with eight rebounds, five assists, and two steals.
“We don’t want to see the injuries we had, but that’s part of it,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said.
Thibodeau, a firm believer in the next man up philosophy, acknowledged the effort of his players. “I thought guys gave everything they had and that’s all you can ask. … There was nothing left to give at the end.”
Despite the adversity, the Knicks fought valiantly, but the accumulation of injuries proved too much to overcome in their quest to advance further in the playoffs.