CHICAGO — The only sighting of Jalen Brunson since he limped off the court and to the locker room at Madison Square Garden Sunday night was a picture that showed up on social media of him at a team holiday party with his right foot encased in a protective boot.
That set off speculation of how long he could be sidelined with what the team first called a sprained ankle and then shifted to a contused right foot Monday. But when the Knicks took the floor for pregame warmups Wednesday night Brunson was there, sprinting onto the court as he has every game this season.
Perhaps it wasn’t going to bring back echoes of Willis Reed limping out of the tunnel for Game 7 in the 1970 NBA Finals with a torn muscle in his thigh, but Brunson was there and showing no signs that he wasn’t exactly the same player he has been every night. Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau asked before the game if there would be any limitations or restrictions on Brunson, said bluntly, “No.”
And there weren’t. With 27.9 seconds left in overtime, the minutes mounting and pressure with it, and Brunson faked Alex Caruso, sending him reeling backward, and drained a three-pointer to ice a 128-120 win. Brunson finished with 30 points in 39 minutes, scoring seven in the overtime as the Knicks won their fifth straight game.
The Knicks outscored the Bulls 11-3 in the overtime period.
Julius Randle led the Knicks with 31 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists. RJ Barrett finished with 22 points.
Brunson has taken a beating this season, from the constant efforts to draw charges to hurling his body into the air against bigger defenders, he has gone down and every time he has gotten back up. For Thibodeau, who treasures availability, having a leader who is always there is invaluable.
“From the moment we signed him,” Thibodeau said. “All the things that he does, coming into the gym every day all summer, the way he works, the way he takes care of his body, the type of teammate he is. He’s happy whether he’s scored, whether he hasn’t scored, if we win. Winning has always been first and foremost with him. He enjoys his teammates having success.”
The Knicks saw a 14-point lead disappear and the Bulls take their first lead of the game late in the third quarter. They recovered to take a four-point advantage in to the fourth quarter and found themselves in a back-and-forth battle down the stretch. Leading 107-103 after a Barrett drive with 5:22 to play they saw Zach LaVine drive by Quentin Grimes and then bury a 22-footer to tie the score with 4:33 left and send the Knicks to a timeout.
Brunson drove into traffic and found Grimes for a three and when Barrett blocked DeRozan inside, the Knicks got three chances before Mitchell Robinson finally dunked in a follow for a 112-107 advantage. With the lead down to one again, Randle found Grimes with the clock running down for a corner three with 54.2 seconds to play.
After a pair of free throws by DeRozan, Randle was blocked at the rim and DeRozan raced downcourt, dropping in a layup with 24.7 seconds left to tie the score and give the Knicks the final shot. Randle isolate Patrick Williams on the right side but threw up an air ball from the corner — giving Chicago one last chance with .7 seconds left.
A lob for Williams fell harmlessly — although it appeared that there was contact from Randle — sending the game to overtime.
