Knicks Address Late Absences of Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart

The New York Knicks were missing two major men from the final stages of their latest postseason heartbreaker.

Geoff Magliocchetti | Apr 30, 2025

Apr 29, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) reacts after being hurt in the fourth quarter against the Detroit Pistons during game five of first round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images / Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

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New York Knicks

Few would reject courtside seats for a New York Knicks games at Madison Square Garden but two high-profile cases emerged during Game 5 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series against the Detroit Pistons.

Late injury woes forced Knicks stars Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart to watch a good bit of the game's final act against the Detroit in front of the scorer's table, which documented a 106-103 New York loss that extended the best-of-seven set.

“I’ve got to watch the tape. I don’t have an answer to that because I have to rewatch it,” a perplexed Karl-Anthony Towns said of the lack of Brunson and Hart in the last stages, per Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. “There was a lot going on when all that happened, so I’ve got to rewatch it before I can give you a good answer.”

"Stood there waiting to get in" pic.twitter.com/9QmeRqeKyc
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) April 30, 2025

Unlucky medical serendipity forced the "Roommates" out of the game with 2:57 remaining in regulation and factors both within and beyond the Knicks' control kept them sidelined until there were but 27 seconds and a deficit of six left on the scoreboard.

Despite the point guard and captain's noticeable struggles from the field (4-of-16 on Tuesday night), the stage was set for more clutch dramatics from Brunson: as the clock dipped under four minutes, New York was keeping pace with the Pistons despite a tepid offensive effort, notably tying the game at 95-all with a three-pointer from Towns.

Brunson, however, wasn't on that end of the floor to witness that triple: while chasing Cade Cunningham on the prior defensive possession, Brunson appeared to aggravate the right ankle that affected most of his March and postponed his heroics in Game 4 of the series on Sunday. He was attempting to gingerly walk despite the ailment as Towns succeeded from deep.

The captain was later seen hunched over on the Knick sideline during a New York timeout with 2:57 left, one necessitated when Hart remained crumbled on the floor after a physical get-together with Cunningham, who went for a drive on the next Detroit possession. While Hart temporarily prevented a Cunningham drive, an open Jalen Duren picked up the loose ball and slammed it home for a two-point lead that proved permanent.

Brunson and Hart were respective replaced by Miles McBride and Cameron Payne. While the two former Villanova Wildcats quickly moved back to the scorer's table to check back in after their respective incidents, a nightmare scenario reduced them to spectators for the vital final stages.

On the next Knick possession, Tobias Harris rejected a Towns double, which turned into another Duren dunk with 2:31 left. A Mikal Bridges misfire gave Detroit another opportunity to expand the lead and Cunningham did so in eight-foot double that made it 101-95 with 1:57 to go.

Even with the vital fifth game slipping way and no guaranteed stoppage in sight, Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau opted not to use his last timeout to get Brunson and Hart back in. Sitting in the penalty situation, which afforded Detroit two shots no matter the foul, also hurt in such a narrow game—one where the Knicks, for their part, shot less than 60 percent from the foul line.

Head coach Tom Thibodeau shouldered the blame in the aftermath, reasoning it was not an easy decision to have Brunson and Hart sit while their teammates tried in vain to erase the Piston lead that reached as high as 10.

"It's just where we were with the timeouts -- it was a coach's decision," Thibodeau said, per Chris Herring of ESPN. "Time. Score. Penalty. All of the above. There's a lot that goes into it."

The Knicks finally broke through with a Mikal Bridges jumper with 50 ticks left, but the Pistons added cushioning and further awkwardness when Ausar Thompson immediately re-established the six-point lead 23 seconds later. Only then did the Knicks call their final timeout of the night, one that finally allowed Brunson and Hart to get back on the floor.

Alas for the Knicks, it was too little and too late, as things mostly devolved into last act sloppiness and free throw contests to create the final margin. Brunson nearly got the ball back in a one-possession game but he was unable to swipe it back before Detroit was awarded a return to the foul line to help create the final margin.

New York staged one last rescue effort that ultimately fell short: three-pointers from Bridges and OG Anunoby narrowed the gap to one amidst Detroit's middling efforts at the foul line and there was still a fighting chance within the last few seconds despite successful Cunningham free throws to return the lead to its state of three.

McBride, however, was intentionally fouled before he could set-up an equalizer down three and missed the first of two awarded tries. He attempted to misfire the latter try intentionally to create a battle for a rebound, but that subsequent scrum effectively ran the clock out and doomed the Knicks to another visit to Little Caesars Arena on Thursday night.

Though the replacements struggled to keep his seat warm in Game 5, Brunson reiterated his faith in his teammates, which could do wonders for team morale as it faces a downright deadly challenge in the Motor City less than 48 hours after being dealt a stunner that kept the series alive.

"I have the utmost faith, regardless of the result, in my teammates," Brunson said, per Dan Devine of Yahoo! Sports. 'Whoever’s out there, trust, faith, belief, all that. I’ll always have that for my teammates.”

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Published Apr 30, 2025|Modified Apr 30, 2025