Jalen Brunson has had an amazing season with the New York Knicks to this point. Not only is he their leading scorer, but Brunson has put the Knicks in a position to actually contend against the best of the best come playoff time. Unfortunately, like so many others on New York's roster, Brunson is currently dealing with a knee injury that he suffered last weekend against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The good news is that the 27-year-old avoided a major injury. The bad news is that he continues to appear on the injury report. This has led many to ask the question: Is Jalen Brunson playing vs. the Orlando Magic on Friday night?
Jalen Brunson's injury status vs. Magic
Brunson played one minute against the Cavs last Sunday before having to exit due to what appeared to be a serious non-contact knee injury. It was later revealed that the Knicks star was dealing with a left knee contusion and would be day-to-day. He has since missed the team's only other game against the Atlanta Hawks, which New York lost 116-100 at home.
On Friday night, the Knicks will take on the Magic, who have taken a half-game lead over them for the 4-seed in the Eastern Conference. Having Brunson available in this game is imperative for the Knicks to possibly pull out a victory, but he was initially listed as questionable to play on the team's injury report. Fortunately, after Brunson practices in full on Thursday, he was give the greenlight to play.
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In a total of 57 games this season, Brunson has averaged 27.2 points and 6.6 assists per game while shooting 47.7 percent from the floor and 40.7 percent from 3-point range. Brunson has been great in the two games he has played against the Magic this season, recording at least 20 points in both games. In February, he scored a team-high 33 points in a 118-100 loss on the road against Orlando.
The Magic have won all three of their meetings against the Knicks this season, meaning that they will own the season tiebreaker over New York. Still, a win would go a long way for the Knicks, especially since they have lost eight of their last 11 games due to various injuries to key players.
Even if Brunson is forced to play in limited minutes in his return, Miles McBride should be able to back him up well. McBride played a team-high 46 minutes in New York's recent six-point loss to the Hawks. Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks will continue to serve as key offensive weapons off the bench as well.
So, when it comes to the question of whether Jalen Brunson is playing tonight vs. the Magic, the official answer is YES!
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