Jalen Brunson was unable to play Tuesday night, but the medical update on the Knicks’ All-Star point guard was as positive as could have been expected.
Brunson departed Sunday’s win in Cleveland in the opening minute with what appeared to be a serious knee injury, but later was diagnosed as a contusion.
The Knicks had said X-rays on Brunson came back negative, and coach Tom Thibodeau added Tuesday that an MRI exam also came back “clean.”
“He’s feeling better, just not quite there yet,” Thibodeau said before Tuesday’s 116-100 loss to the Hawks, who were without their All-Star point guard, Trae Young, who underwent surgery on his left hand last week.
“It is a bruise and it’s a lot better than it was but we just want to make sure he’s completely ready.”
Veteran guard Shake Milton’s signing also became official Tuesday after he cleared waivers following a buyout by the Pistons, and he was available to play against the Hawks, Thibodeau added.
Miles McBride played more than 47 minutes Sunday night after Brunson had departed.
“Just when he’s ready to go, he goes,” Thibodeau said. “In the meantime, just like what we did the last game. Deuce, get in there, get the job done. We’ve got Alec [Burks]. So we’ve got more than enough.”
McBride committed one turnover in his 45 minutes of action in Tuesday’s loss, his 10th consecutive game with no more than one giveaway.
“Just reading the game well,” Thibodeau said beforehand. “Usually your turnovers are coming from either too much one-on-one or risky passes. He’s just letting the game come to him, he’s letting the game tell him what to do.
“And then we have a number of other guys that are making good plays as well. So I think they’ve created a lot of advantages for each other and they’ve played off each other extremely well in the Cleveland game.”