Jalen Brunson is back.
The Knicks star returned to action Sunday night against the Phoenix Suns at Madison Square Garden — exactly one month after he sprained his right ankle.
After being described by head coach Tom Thibodeau as a game-time decision, Brunson went through a 15-minute pregame warmup.
Brunson wore a brace on his ankle during the warmup as he progressed through a variety of catch-and-shoot and off-the-dribble 3-pointers; contested jumpers; and shots in the paint.
The Knicks announced his return about 30 minutes before tip-off.
Brunson, who entered Saturday averaging a team-high 26.3 points and 7.4 assists per game, missed 15 games due to the injury.
He rolled his ankle during overtime of the Knicks’ March 6 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers when he landed awkwardly on a lay-up attempt.
The scary-looking injury left Brunson holding his ankle and writhing in pain. Brunson, who was fouled on the play by Austin Reeves, stayed in the game to shoot — and make — both free throws before limping to the locker room.
Last Sunday, Brunson said he had been cleared for basketball activities.
“Realistically, I’m hoping to play before the playoffs,” Brunson said at the time. “I think it’s good for me to get some game reps before we go into that kind of stretch run. But most importantly, I want to make sure I’m healthy.”
He practiced with contact on Friday in Atlanta.
The Knicks went 9-6 without Brunson, an All-Star in both of the last two seasons, but they averaged only 111.7 points per game in his absence, compared to their season-long average of 116.2 to begin play Sunday.
They managed to stay afloat in those 15 games behind a 110.3 defensive rating — an improvement on their season-long mark of 113.3. OG Anunoby stepped up offensively, averaging 23.2 points in the games Brunson missed.
The Knicks’ point guard depth was further tested when Miles “Deuce” McBride suffered a groin contusion during a March 20 loss in Charlotte.
McBride missed eight games before also making his return on Sunday. He, too, was described as a game-time decision but was cleared after going through pregame warmups.
Cameron Payne, meanwhile, missed four games with a sprained right ankle before returning in Saturday’s win in Atlanta. He was active as well for Sunday’s back end of the back-to-back.
When Brunson, McBride and Payne were all ailing, the Knicks leaned on second-round rookie Tyler Kolek and trade-deadline acquisition Delon Wright for more minutes.
Sunday marked the 62nd appearance of the season for Brunson. There are four games remaining in the regular season. Brunson will need to play in three of those final four games to hit 65 appearances, which is the NBA’s cutoff for awards consideration.
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