Advertisement

Jalen Brunson has hand surgery, Knicks reveal initial recovery timeline

Knicks star Jalen Brunson, who fractured his left hand during the third quarter of New York's Game 7 Eastern Conference Semifinals loss to the Indiana Pacers on Sunday, underwent surgery for the injury.

Per the Knicks, Brunson will be re-evaluated in six-to-eight weeks.

Before fracturing his hand, Brunson had been dealing with a right foot injury that he suffered during the first half of Game 2 against Indiana.

"I love the fact of how we fought night in and night out. I just love this group of guys that we have," Brunson said after Game 7. "Our mindset as a group was strong. Some nights when we may have not had what people thought was a team capable of winning, our mindset pushed us over that hump.

"Definitely proud of what we were able to do this year and proud of how we fought night in and night out. Obviously, the outcome is not what we wanted, but the way we fought is awesome."

The Knicks were so shorthanded toward the end of their series against Indiana that the injuries became impossible to overcome.

In addition to Brunson, the Knicks were without OG Anunoby for Games 3 through 6. Anunoby returned for a few minutes at the start of Game 7, but couldn't move much because of his hamstring injury — necessitating him being pulled a few minutes into the first quarter.

Meanwhile, Josh Hart played hurt in Game 7 after suffering an abdominal injury in Game 6 and exiting early.

New York was also without Mitchell Robinson (whose season ended after an ankle injury in Game 1), Bojan Bogdanovic (who suffered foot and wrist injuries after the Knicks beat the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round and missed the entire Pacers series), and Julius Randle (who had season-ending shoulder surgery after the season after trying to rehab and return for the playoffs).

Speaking of Bogdanovic, he underwent successful surgery on his left wrist, the team said Wednesday.

Like Brunson, Bogdanovic will be re-evaluated in six-to-eight weeks.