Jalen Brunson was officially diagnosed with an ankle sprain and listed as questionable for Thursday’s game against the Mavericks.
A source said that Brunson may indeed miss the game but dodged the bullet of a serious injury.
In the context of seeing Brunson turn his ankle Tuesday night and miss the end of a victory over the Grizzlies, it’s probably positive news that he’s “questionable” and not ruled out.
Josh Hart, who was dealing with knee pain, was not listed on the injury report.
It was worse news for OG Anunoby and Quentin Grimes, both listed out again. Anunoby will miss his fifth straight game with an elbow injury.
The Knicks labeled it “bone spur irritation” on Wednesday after only previously diagnosing him with “elbow inflammation.”
Grimes is out for his fourth straight because of a sprained knee.
Brunson turned his ankle Tuesday with 10 minutes remaining and the Knicks up by 10.
There might’ve been hope of the point guard resting the final period since the Knicks finished the third quarter up by 23.
But after consecutive Memphis treys cut the deficit to 20, Tom Thibodeau called a timeout and reinserted Brunson with 8:08 left.
It didn’t help the score — the Grizzlies immediately went on a 12-2 run — and Brunson left the game with about 5 ½ minutes left.
He was spotted leaving the arena Tuesday without crutches, a pronounced limp or a boot. That was an encouraging sign. But he was walking gingerly.
Thibodeau claimed he had no information or insight postgame and the Knicks didn’t practice Wednesday.
Hart, meanwhile, was examined by “medical,” as Thibodeau characterized it, because of his knee issue. He played through the pain and finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds in 37 minutes.
The Knicks are trying to avoid a season-sweep to the Mavericks, who toppled Thibodeau’s squad in Dallas last month despite Luka Doncic sitting.
Doncic and Kyrie Irving are both healthy, which is a rarity. They’ve only played together 24 games this season, mostly because of Irving’s various ailments.
Still, Irving was healthy in the last Knicks matchup and torched Anunoby for 44 points in 40 minutes.
Severely shorthanded, the Knicks have been relying more on Isaiah Hartenstein, who is dealing with his own Achilles pain issue, and Precious Achiuwa at power forward. They combined for 75 minutes Tuesday.
“It’s been good, just slowly coming back,” Hartenstein said about his return from Achilles inflammation, which had sidelined him for two games and placed him on a minutes restriction until last week. “It’s still been good progress, feeling good. Have to keep piling on wins and keep going from there.”