Jalen Brunson back after sprained ankle a month ago as Knicks get healthy for season’s final week

NEW YORK (AP) — Jalen Brunson figured his conditioning might be a little worse, but hoped his play would be a little better.

The New York Knicks won in his return to the lineup, which is ultimately what mattered most to Brunson.

The All-Star point guard had 15 points and six assists in his first game since spraining his right ankle a month ago, helping the Knicks beat the Phoenix Suns 112-98 on Sunday night.

“A lot of room for improvement on my end obviously, but I’m surprised by the conditioning part,” Brunson said. “I thought that would be a lot worse, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought.”

Brunson missed 15 games after he was hurt late in a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on March 6. He practiced fully with the Knicks on Friday for the first time since the injury and was cleared to return Sunday following a pregame workout at Madison Square Garden.

He shot just 3 for 9 from the field in 34 minutes, but his 10 points in the second half included a big 3-pointer with 1:44 left after the Suns had pulled within seven points.

“I think usually what happens when a guy comes back, he sort of has to get a feel for the game again,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “And then usually there’s a play or two where he’ll be tested a little bit and then once he realizes he’s good, he takes off, and I thought the whole second half there was a different gear for him.”

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Not as much as Brunson would have liked. He said he always expects to find a rhythm no matter what, and was asked if he did at any point Sunday.

“No, I didn’t find a rhythm at all, actually,” he said. “Hopefully next game I do.”

But Brunson also conceded there was more to playing again than just being comfortable with how his body felt after what he said was the longest injury absence of his career.

“Everyone always talks about the physical part, about how you’re feeling or whatever, but mentally it’s just trusting it,” Brunson said. “Trusting your movements, trusting the way you play and everything, and not second-guessing yourself.”

Backup point guard Deuce McBride also returned from his eight-game absence with a groin injury, scoring eight points and putting the Knicks in good health heading into the final week of the regular season.

They went 9-6 without Brunson, their captain, to remain in third place in the Eastern Conference. Their victory Sunday gave them a second straight 50-win season, the first time the Knicks have done that since four straight seasons from 1991-92 through 1994-95.

They will face Boston and Cleveland, the two teams above them in the East standings, in the final week of the regular season, along with the Detroit Pistons, the team they could face in the first round of the playoffs.

Perhaps the time without Brunson has the Knicks ready for it.

“Obviously above .500 is great,” he said of the record during his absence, “and I think we made some strides forward.”

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