Jalen Brunson Initial Injury Status Revealed for Suns vs Knicks

This matchup could feature two of its biggest names missing in action.

Jan 9, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) celebrates a three point shot against the Phoenix Suns in the second half at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Phoenix Suns and New York Knicks are set to face each other at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, though both teams could very well be without their top players.

The Knicks are listing Jalen Brunson as questionable with a right ankle sprain that initially was suffered in the opening portion of New York's road test against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday. He then missed Thursday's second part of a back-to-back against the Golden State Warriors.

New York lost both matchups and went 1-3 on their brief West Coast road trip, which included a Friday loss to the Suns back at Mortgage Matchup Center. They scored 113 and 101 points the last two nights without Brunson, who also suffered a sprained ankle earlier this season.

Now, the Knicks return home to face a Suns squad that missed Devin Booker in last night's loss to the Detroit Pistons with his own left ankle sprain. Phoenix has yet to officially reveal their injury report, though Booker was initially listed as questionable before being ruled out ahead of last night.

Both squads are 1-2 in their last three games.

Brunson scored 27 points in Phoenix to pair with three rebounds and five assists. On the season, he's averaging 28.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 6.1 assists.

Brunson leads New York in both points and assists. Mikal Bridges (19 points vs Sacramento) and OG Anunoby (25 points vs Golden State) have picked up the scoring slack in his absence.

Knicks coach Mike Brown spoke on getting Brunson going before their matchup in Phoenix:

"Our biggest thing is you want to try to attack early in the shot clocks so that you have more time to get to your second and third option throughout the course of your actions. We've talked about that and we've done a decent job in it," said Brown.

"We still have a lot of room to grow, hopefully we can. Playing with pace, not only helps Jalen, but everybody else, because if you cut hard, you're going to draw a reaction by the defense. If you kind of walk from point A to point B, the defense is going to be able to sit there and load up. So just trying to emphasize pace in the front court as well as in the full court, like everybody else, is huge for us to try to gain an advantage because we're a huge paint touch team."