Jalen Brunson tested a bruised calf but apparently didn't feel comfortable enough to play, causing him to miss his second straight game on Monday.
“Pain tolerance,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “He just goes through his routine and gets ready to play. You know, I trust him. When he's ready to go, he'll let us know.”
At the very least, it's positive news that Brunson's injury sustained in last week's loss to the Mavericks is now tolerable rather than fearful of reinjury.
The Knicks, who are now 1-1 without Brunson after a 98-94 loss to the Magic on Monday, will next face the Rockets at the Garden on Wednesday.
Houston (19-20) has played better since acquiring Fred VanVleet in the summer, but is just 4-14 on the road.
“It's a day-to-day thing,” Thibodeau said of Brunson's injury. “Today was a little bit better. When he's ready, he's ready. We have more than enough to win.”
In Monday's fourth quarter, the Knicks' offense looked particularly stagnant without Brunson.
“Obviously we're missing JB. He's a big piece for us,” Julius Randle said. “It's tough. But we had enough to win that game.”
Randle sprained his ankle in the first quarter and struggled Monday with just 15 points on 5-of-18 shooting.
Randle limped and grimaced immediately after the ankle turn, but remained in the match and maintained he was fine afterward.
“No, it’s okay,” he said.
It's worth noting that Randle, who did not have his ankle wrapped in the locker room, did not discuss the injury, insisting that he had never had any problems with his ankle until last season, when he required arthroscopic surgery.
The Magic's top player, Franz Wagner, also missed six straight games with an ankle injury.
Wagner dropped 32 points in the Magic's only previous game of the season, against the Knicks, which Orlando won by nine points in late December.
With Wagner absent on MLK Day, reigning Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero had 20 points and six rebounds in perhaps the best MSG game of his young career.
That was also when he frequently played against Knicks defensive stopper OG Anunoby.
“He's probably the guy I'm going to play against for most of my career,” Banchero said. “So it's good to get some reps against them and finding ways to use their aggression to my advantage is something I'm trying to learn. To accept those challenges. I always look forward to it.”
