New York Knicks star guard Jalen Brunson departed Sunday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks early in the third quarter after suffering a shoulder injury.
Roughly 2:15 into the second half, Brunson collided with Milwaukee’s AJ Green while driving to the basket and immediately pulled up and dropped to a knee under the basket.
He remained on the floor for the Bucks’ ensuing possession but quickly gestured to the bench that he was going to the locker room, which immediately suggested something was seriously wrong.
Anxieties were eased, however, when he emerged from the locker room with 3:34 left in the third.
Brunson had been having one of the best games of his season, dropping 32 points with five assists as New York built a 20-point lead. Twenty-three of Brunson’s points came in the first quarter.
The 28-year-old point guard is the engine of the Knicks’ machine and any considerable absence would have been a significant blow to one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, even if they had been struggling with four losses in their previous five games entering Sunday.
Brunson entered the contest against the Bucks averaging 25.1 points and 7.5 assists per game this season.
