LOS ANGELES — The Knicks dramatic loss Thursday night was made worse by Jalen Brunson limping off the court.
The star point guard turned his right ankle badly after landing on Austin Reaves with 1:24 remaining in overtime of the 113-109 defeat to the Lakers, crumbling under the basket after absorbing multiple fouls on a drive.
Brunson remained in the game to hit two free throws — tying the score — but didn’t attempt to move from his position on the foul line before heading slowly to the locker room.
Brunson didn’t talk postgame, but his best friend on the team, Josh Hart, anticipated an absence “for a little bit.” The injury carried the look of a sprained ankle.
“Obviously it’s a bummer of an injury. We’ve got to expect him to be out for a little bit,” Hart said. “We’ve got guys. Now we have to step up. Other guys’ roles are going to be bigger. There’s more opportunity. Keep it afloat until he comes back, be aggressive, go out there and compete.”
Thursday night wasn’t a good sign for life without Brunson.
The Knicks bombed down the stretch offensively as LeBron James buried clutch free throws to seal L.A.’s win under ‘MVP’ chants.
Brunson finished with 39 points in 41 minutes — but was unavailable for those final 81 seconds — and New York fell to 5-1 in overtimes this season.
Losers of two straight, the Knicks (40-22) next face the Clippers in a back-to-back Friday with Brunson’s status unofficially doubtful.
“It’s for sure going to be an adjustment [without Brunson]. The last minute and a half we were a little stagnant, that was tough,” Hart said. “Got to get some new plays, get other guys involved. You never want anyone to get hurt, but now this is an opportunity for other guys’ names to be called. We have confidence in everybody here. We’ve got to go out and be aggressive, everyone step it up and compete.”
The Knicks blew it in regulation. They were up 10 with seven minutes on the clock, then succumbed to a 19-6 run that put the Lakers up by 3 with less than 90 seconds remaining.
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Brunson — who else? — converted an and-1 to tie the score on the following possession, and the teams traded misses in the final seconds to compel overtime.
“I thought it was a hard fought game. It came down to down the stretch,” Tom Thibodeau said. “A lot of tough plays. We couldn’t get to a loose ball. Things like that. Oftentimes that’s the difference. The first 3 ½ quarters were very, very good. Obviously we got to close out better.”
The coach applauded Brunson’s decision to stay in the game to hit the free throws after the nasty ankle turn.
“His mental toughness is through the roof. It doesn’t surprise me,” Thibodeau said. “The way he played the whole game, they were loaded up pretty good on him. And he just kept battling and battling.”
For the Lakers (40-21), who’ve won eight straight, Luka Doncic scored 32 points with 12 assists.
LeBron was again a force against Father Time, finishing with 31 points and 12 rebounds in 44 minutes.
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