New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson is out for Saturday's game against the Los Angeles Clippers with a sore left foot, the franchise announced Friday.
Brunson left Thursday's 122-117 loss to the Sacramento Kings after re-aggravating his foot injury in the first half. He had 19 points, two rebounds and two assists before his departure.
He just aggravated it, but I haven't talked to the doctors yet," Knicks head coach Tom Thibodaux told reporters after the game. "Just pain. We have to let the medical people do their job.
After Thursday's game, ESPN's Brian Wind horst classified Brunson's injury as "concerning on two levels" because the Knicks are in the thick of the playoff race and because the point guard has not publicly said how he hurt his leg.
"First of all, he's not really sure, at least he hasn't said publicly, how he initially injured his leg," Wind horst said. "... It's not even 100 percent clear what he does here that re-injures it, and that's what makes you worry."
The 26-year-old missed two games against the Boston Celtics and Charlotte Hornets earlier this week with a foot ailment. He also missed three games in December with hip soreness and missed the Feb. 2 game against the Miami Heat due to illness.
The 2022-23 season was the heaviest workload of Brunson's five-year career. Before becoming New York's starting point guard, the 2018 second-round pick spent most of his career with the Dallas Mavericks as Luka Dunce’s backup and never started more than 61 games in a season.
Brunson has already surpassed that mark this season, starting 62 of the 63 games he has appeared in. That said, he's also having the best season of his career, averaging 23.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 6.1 assists while shooting 48.7 percent from the floor and 41.4 percent from deep.