DALLAS — It took the return of Jalen Brunson from a sprained ankle and a fortuitous call for the New York Knicks to register their first road win of the season 113-111 against a shorthanded Dallas Mavericks team Wednesday night.
Brunson suffered a Grade 1 right ankle sprain on a drive to the basket late in a 124-107 home loss to Orlando on Nov. 12. He was evaluated daily while missing two games against the Miami Heat.
But as was his custom last season whenever he missed time, he emerged from the injury looking and performing like himself.
Brunson scored 28 points and dished out the go-ahead 3-pointer to Landry Shamet in the final minute to put the Knicks up three. The game wasn’t decided until the final seconds, when Mavericks guard Brandon Williams was called for an offensive foul for hooking Shamet on what would have been a tying layup with 0.7 seconds left.
Editor’s Picks
2 Related
“It was the right call,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “Because he took [Shamet’s] left arm. I had a great view of it. I’m glad [official] J.T. [Orr] did, but more importantly, I’m glad he made the right call.”
“Chaos,” Brunson said. “At the same time, found a way to win. It was ugly. When you win ugly, it’s a sign of a team learning, getting better. No matter what the situation is, we’ve got to find a way to win.”
Brown applauded Brunson resisting the temptation to call his own number in that situation, given that Brunson was last season’s Clutch Player of the Year and there was the added possibility of sticking it to his former team in the Mavericks, with whom he spent his first four NBA seasons.
“You always trust and family and all that B.S., that coach speak,” Brown said. “To have your best player go and do it. If somebody else doesn’t do it, you say hey, hey, hey, you got to make the right plays down the stretch, our best player is doing it.”
Brunson was a game-time decision but there seemed little doubt he would play. New York was already without swingman OG Anunoby, who suffered a left hamstring strain in Miami and will be evaluated in two weeks.
Dallas was missing No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg (illness) in addition to Anthony Davis (calf). Kyrie Irving has been out all season recovering from an ACL tear.
Still, the Mavericks held a late fourth-quarter lead before the Knicks’ defense stiffened, holding them without a field goal for the last 4:39.
“These are building blocks to the stuff we have to work on now. The quicker we get better at this, the better it’s going to be for us in the long run,” Brunson said. “These are not pressure (situations). This is the stuff we work on. It’s what we do … let’s go out and do it.”
Brunson cut off a question about his ankle before it was finished, saying it felt “fantastic,” but that he wasn’t sure of the severity until the MRI he underwent the day after leaving Madison Square Garden on crutches and in a walking boot.
This was Brunson’s fourth game against Dallas in seven opportunities and first win. He missed the other three with injuries.
Brunson wouldn’t give any response to being in Dallas again as extra motivation for a return, but teammate Josh Hart apparently told him the last couple of days, “If you’re not playing, get off the court.”
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
