The New York Knicks produced a winning record without Jalen Brunson but are eager to avoid taking the court without their captain for much longer.
Brunson is inching closer to returning from a sprained ankle, and the Knicks could get the star guard back Saturday afternoon when they visit the Atlanta Hawks.
Brunson practiced Friday at Georgia Tech ahead of a back-to-back set in Atlanta and at home against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday. The Knicks (48-28) are determining which part of the back-to-back to reinsert Brunson into the lineup after going 8-6 without him; it is unlikely he would play both games.
“It’s more of how they feel and what we think is best given all the factors that are involved and just make a good decision.” New York Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters Friday.
“He looked good,” New York’s Josh Hart added. “Got a lot of buckets, gave up a lot of buckets. So about normal.”
Brunson was hurt March 6 in a 113-109 overtime loss at the Los Angeles Lakers and the Knicks lost four of the first seven without him. New York is 5-2 in its past seven but continued to struggle against elite teams in Wednesday’s 124-105 loss at Cleveland, when it got outscored 71-45 in the second half.
Since Brunson’s last appearance, Karl Anthony-Towns led the Knicks in scoring seven times and finished with 25 points Wednesday. OG Anunoby, who has led the team in scoring five times in Brunson’s absence, added 23 and is shooting 54.2 percent (77-of-142) in his past eight games.
Besides Brunson, the Knicks could be getting Cam Payne back. Payne is questionable after missing the past four with a sprained ankle, while Miles McBride was ruled out for his eighth straight game with a groin injury.
The Hawks (36-40) are 1-4 in their five games following a stretch where they were 7-2 from March 6-23. The four losses are by a combined 33 points, including the Hawks’ 120-118 defeat to the host Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday.
Atlanta overcame a five-point deficit with less than four minutes left but gave up a tying 3-pointer to Klay Thompson and allowed a go-ahead floater to Anthony Davis with 3.4 seconds left.
Trae Young scored 25 but missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer. He is 19-of-56 (33.9 percent) from the floor in his past three games.
“I thought we battled,” Atlanta coach Quin Snyder said after his team shot 43.3 percent. “We were aggressive even in our defense in the fourth quarter, and it always comes down to a couple plays. Anthony Davis had a really tough shot, fading away off one foot. And then we didn’t get a good shot late.”
The Hawks hold eighth in the Eastern Conference race and are one game behind the Orlando Magic, whom they will face twice over their final four contests.
Atlanta got another productive night from Onyeka Okongwu, who has double-doubles in 9 of his past 14 games after collecting 20 and 14 boards on Wednesday.
The teams are meeting for the fifth time due to their encounter in the NBA’s play-in tournament on Dec. 11. Atlanta won the first two meetings before the Knicks earned a 119-110 home win on Jan. 20 and a wild 149-148 overtime victory in New York on Feb. 12, when Towns scored 44 and Brunson finished with 36 to counter a 38-point, 19-assist showing by Young.
