Tag Archives: Jalen Brunson

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Jalen Brunson leads Knicks past Warriors for eighth straight win

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Tom Thibodeau was close with Jalen Brunson the person, having known him since he was a young child. He had only watched him from a distance as a player, first in high school, then college and later the NBA.

But almost immediately after Brunson agreed to join the Knicks, his new coach had a good idea of why Brunson was going to be so valuable as his new point guard.

“I’ll be honest with you, when we first signed him he started coming in immediately in the summer and I knew right then, just by what he was doing,” Thibodeau said. “Not by what he was saying. Not by anything other than the way he came in and the way he worked each and every day. I knew that was exactly what we needed.”

Through the season’s first 31 games — in good times and bad, when he’s at less than 100 percent, when games are on the line — it has become clear what the addition of Brunson has meant to the Knicks. After Brunson inked that four-year, $104 million deal to leave the Mavericks, there was a narrative that he was overpaid. So far, it has been the opposite.

Jalen Brunson drives to the basket during the Knicks’ 132-94 blowout win over the Warriors.
Robert Sabo

His brilliant first season as a Knick continued Tuesday, in the form of a 22-point, five-assist, no-turnover masterpiece that led the Knicks to a 132-94 blowout of the defending champion Warriors and extended their NBA-leading win streak to eight. For the first time in nine meetings at the Garden, the Knicks beat the Warriors. This time, they had the star point guard on their side, as Golden State was without Stephen Curry due to a left shoulder injury, and they treated the Warriors like a sparring partner, instead of the other way around.

Brunson set the tone — with his scoring in the first half and passing after the break. He had plenty of help, four teammates in double figures. Immanuel Quickley snapped out of a shooting slump to hit five 3-pointers and score 22 points, Quentin Grimes had 19 points as he continued his impressive play and RJ Barrett contributed 18 points and five assists. Julius Randle was again a force inside, notching 15 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. Jordan Poole led the Warriors (15-17) with 26 points.

Immanuel Quickley, who scored 22 points, shoots a jumper during the Knicks’ blowout win.
Robert Sabo

After averaging over 27 points on the recent 3-0 road trip, Brunson picked up where he left off. He scored 16 points in the opening half on a variety of midrange jumpers, and went on a personal 9-0 run in the second quarter that gave the Knicks their largest lead of the first half at 57-43.

The ball moved well in the opening half, the Knicks racking up 15 assists on 24 made field goals and shooting a blistering 52.2 percent from the field. They hit 10 of their 19 3-point attempts, three apiece from Grimes and Quickley, and were dominant on the glass, owning a 22-14 edge. The lead was 13 at the break, and really could’ve been larger had the Warriors not shot so well from deep, making eight of 21 attempts.

Mitchell Robinson slams one home during the Knicks’ dominant victory.
Robert Sabo

There was a scare late in the first half that halted the positive vibes momentarily. Grimes landed on the foot of Warriors guard Ty Jerome, and appeared to turn his right ankle. Jerome was assessed a Flagrant 1. Grimes hit two free throws, came out of the game, but started the second half.

Brunson used the pass instead of the shot in the third quarter, stacking up four assists in the early portion of the period as the Knicks threatened to run the Warriors off the Garden floor. After hitting a jumper, Brunson set up a Grimes 3-pointer and Barrett layup on consecutive possessions, keying a 16-6 run that pushed the Knicks lead to a then game-high 21. It nearly doubled from there, ending in a 38-point win.

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Jalen Brunson’s heroics lift Knicks to fifth straight win

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CHICAGO — Foot contusion? What foot contusion.

Jalen Brunson certainly didn’t look like someone limited by an injury Wednesday night. A game-time decision, Brunson wasn’t going to miss out on playing in front of family and friends so close to where he spent a large portion of his childhood.

After resorting to isolation ball with Julius Randle to close out regulation, the Knicks put the ball in Brunson’s hands in the extra session, and he didn’t disappoint. He scored seven of his 30 points in the final five minutes as the Knicks knocked off the Bulls, 128-120, at the United Center after blowing a five-point lead in the final 2:07 of regulation. The victory, the Knicks’ sixth road victory in eight tries, gave them a season-high five-game win streak and moved them to two games over .500 at 15-13 for the first time since late October.

Quentin Grimes hit arguably the game’s biggest shot, a 3-pointer that caromed off the front of the rim and fell in to give the Knicks a six-point edge with 1:04 to go. Brunson then hit another 3-pointer after leaving Alex Caruso on the floor with a crossover. He showed rare emotion, celebrating the big shot by shouting towards his high school coach, Pat Ambrose, and two close friends who were sitting under the basket.

“Pretty special,” was how Brunson described the evening.

Jalen Brunson didn’t appear to be bothered by a foot injury as he helped the Knicks roll on.
AP Photo

As recently as Monday, Brunson was in a walking boot after Davion Mitchell landed awkwardly on his right foot in the Knicks’ win over the Kings on Sunday. He didn’t finish that game and wasn’t able to practice on Tuesday. But against the Bulls, he logged 39 minutes and was at his best in overtime.

In hindsight, it seemed silly that there was even a question about his status.

“I don’t want to give anyone the notion that I’m healthy, but I just didn’t want to take today off,” said Brunson, who also had seven assists. “Me as a leader, if I’m able to walk and I’m able to play, I’ve got to bring it.”

As a group, the Knicks brought it in overtime, especially on the defensive end. They held the Bulls to just three points on 1 of 7 shooting after allowing them to shoot 58 percent over the first four quarters. It was similar to their previous four wins when the Knicks held three opponents under 100 points.

Julius Randle stayed red-hot as the Knicks’ win streak continued.
USA TODAY Sports
Chicago Bulls’ Goran Dragic (7) passes the ball as New York Knicks’ Isaiah Hartenstein (55) Immanuel Quickley (5) and Jericho Sims defend.
AP Photo

“It was nice to see,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “I’d prefer to see it earlier.”

Randle scored a team-high 31 points — his third 30-point effort in four games — to go along with 13 rebounds and seven assists, and RJ Barrett had 22 points before fouling out late in regulation. Grimes chipped in 14 points, five rebounds and a team-best plus-14 rating. DeMar DeRozan scored 32 for the Bulls (11-16), who had their three-game home winning streak snapped.

The Knicks led by as many as 14 points in the first half and were up five in the final two minutes. But they couldn’t finish off the Bulls in regulation as Randle air-balled a baseline fadeaway, leaving Chicago with 0.7 seconds left to win it. Randle, though, read the lob play well, and got in between Patrick Williams and the rim, forcing overtime.

“Sometimes you have to win games in different ways, and the bottom line is just find a way to win,” Thibodeau said.

The Knicks left no doubt from then on. Brunson made sure of that, bad right foot and all, producing his fourth 30-point game of the season.

“It says a lot about him. It’s everything,” Thibodeau said. “Coming in, [getting] multiple treatments every day. That becomes his game, it becomes his practice. He’s been through so many different things. He has a strategy for everything. He just gets out there and gets it done.”

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Knicks’ Julius Randle thriving again because of these two factors

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This isn’t the Julius Randle of two years ago. It’s more like Julius Randle 2.0.

He may be producing similar numbers to that fantastic season when the bruising yet athletic forward led the Knicks to a surprising fourth-place finish in the Eastern Conference, but he is doing so in a different manner.

“The year two years ago obviously he had a great year and a big part of that, I think, was his shooting,” coach Tom Thibodeau said on Tuesday after practice. “It opened up a lot of things for him. But then I think the league sort of caught up and now I think he’s caught up to what they were doing.”

A major part of that change was a different offensive philosophy under Thibodeau predicated on pace and ball movement, and the arrival of new point guard Jalen Brunson. It meant less isolation for Randle and a new focus on playing uptempo.

Randle is rarely bringing the ball up and pounding it into the floor. Instead, he’s getting transition opportunities, shots by moving without the ball and Brunson’s fast start has taken some of the defense’s focus away from Randle. He’s seeing fewer double-teams and getting more open shots.

Julius Randle has thrived early in the Knicks’ season because he’s playing faster, plus has the presence of Jalen Brunson (inset).
Getty Images; N.Y. Post: New York Post

“His approach has been totally different,” Derrick Rose said. “The way he’s reading the floor is totally different. His passing has been unbelievable, like getting to spots and not forcing shots and understanding that we’re trying to get up a certain amount of 3’s. He’s finding the shooters.”

He’s also made notable adjustments, in particular arriving for training camp leaner and more prepared to get up and down the floor faster. At the start of camp, Randle spoke of his excitement for this new offensive philosophy and teaming up with Brunson, and he has backed up that talk, producing 17 assists and just four turnovers in the preseason. In three regular-season games, he is averaging 21.3 points, 9.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and only 1.7 turnovers.

“I’ll say this: Julius is a tremendous athlete and I know from having coached against him what you don’t want to see is Julius flying up the floor, attacking the rim, playing with speed like he’s playing,” Thibodeau said. “You’d rather defend him stationary with the ball. I think because of that, [since] he knows the different things he’s been through, he wants to play fast, and so I think that’s huge. He can help sell it to the rest of the team when he’s moving the way he’s moving. It gets the whole team moving that way.”

Late in Monday’s victory over the Magic the biggest change for the Knicks was on display. A 14-point lead had been cut to six with 4:28 left in the fourth quarter. In past years, it was obvious where the ball was going — to Randle in isolation. Not in this instance. The Knicks ran a high screen-and-roll with Brunson, and it resulted in a made Brunson jumper in which he also drew a foul that iced the game. The Knicks have become less predictable.

Julius Randle celebrates after a dunk during the Knicks’ win over the Magic.
N.Y. Post: Noah K. Murray

“For [Jalen] to take that pressure off me is huge,” Randle said. He added, in general about his play: “I’m just trying to lose myself in the team. Lean on guys like [Brunson], RJ [Barrett], just play for my team. The only thing that matters is winning.”

Brunson, an ego-less lead guard known for making the right play, has had a major impact on Randle. The two started to develop chemistry even before training camp, both of them spending plenty of time in August and early September at the MSG Training Center. It shows. They have played well together, registering a combined plus-30 rating this season.

Brunson recently had Randle and other teammates over to watch a big Eagles-Cowboys game. Brunson roots for the Eagles and Randle is a Cowboys fan. A recent press conference featuring the two players ended with them being asked who will win the NFC East. They both laughed and talked trash about the other’s team.

The only thing the two stars don’t see eye-to-eye on appears to be their favorite football teams.

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Donovan Mitchell throws out first pitch before Cyclones game

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The uncertainty over Donovan Mitchell’s future doesn’t seem to be bothering him.

Though the three-time All-Star guard’s name has been bandied about in trade rumors, with the Knicks interested in landing the high-scoring standout and the rebuilding Jazz believed to be serious about moving him, Mitchell enjoyed a Saturday in Coney Island.

Mitchell took several rounds of batting practice and threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Brooklyn Cyclones’ game at Maimonides Park. He joked with reporters, signed autographs for fans and posed for photos as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

He had just one request.

“We’re not talking basketball,” the 25-year-old Elmsford, N.Y., native said. “Ain’t nobody talking basketball.”

The fans at the game, however, had other ideas. There were pleas for Mitchell to play for the Knicks. Several people in attendance had Knicks gear on. The word “Knicks” was used frequently.

“We want you to come to New York, Donovan,” one fan bellowed. “We need you in New York.”

Donovan Mitchell, who has been a subject of Knicks’ trade talks with the Jazz, throws out the first pitch before the Brooklyn Cyclones game.
Joseph E. Amaturo

A kid, standing next to him, screamed: “Pleeeaaaaase.”

That drew a smile and a grin from Mitchell.

After he threw out the first pitch, and walked toward the dugout, the fans gave it another go.

“Come to the Knicks, Donovan Mitchell,” a man yelled. “Come to the Knicks.”

“We love you in New York, ‘Spida,’ ” another said.

Then, a brief “Go, New York, Go New York, Go,” chant broke out.

Mitchell is in limbo at the moment. The Jazz recently traded veterans Rudy Gobert and Royce O’Neale and are in the process of tearing down the Western Conference contender.

Knicks’ trade target Donovan Mitchell takes batting practice before the Brooklyn Cyclones game.
Joseph E. Amaturo

New Utah CEO Danny Ainge made a killing in the Gobert deal, landing four first-round picks (three unprotected) and a pick swap, along with the 20th overall pick in this year’s draft, center Walker Kessler, and quality players Patrick Beverly, Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt in the blockbuster deal. There have been reports Ainge, in exchange for Mitchell, wants up to six first-round picks and young Knicks players Obi Toppin, Immanuel Quickley, Miles McBride and Quentin Grimes, a haul the Knicks have so far been unwilling to offer.

It’s no secret, however, that Knicks president Leon Rose, who was one of Mitchell’s agents, has an affinity for the guard. Mitchell has a friendship with new Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson through Brunson’s teammate at Villanova, NBA free agent Eric Paschall, and is close to Knicks assistant coach Johnnie Bryant from their days together with the Jazz. He is represented by CAA, the agency Rose once ran. Mitchell grew up locally and now lives mostly in Greenwich, Conn., during the offseason.

It was a matter of coincidence that Mitchell was in New York City at the Cyclones’ game shortly after trade rumors began to heat up. This was planned well in advance. Mitchell has strong connections to the Cyclones and the Mets’ franchise. His father, Donovan Mitchell Sr., works for them now as their senior director of player relations and community outreach. As a child, Mitchell served as a bat boy for the Cyclones when his father was the team’s hitting coach.

Mitchell showed a pretty good swing in batting practice, hitting four home runs. He played baseball growing up, before focusing all of his energy on basketball early in high school.
When he threw out the first pitch, Mitchell drilled a strike from the rubber — not the front of the mound as celebrities are known to do — but the catcher couldn’t squeeze it.

What that means for the Knicks’ pursuit of Mitchell remains unclear.

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Mark Cuban has no hard feelings about Jalen Brunson’s Knicks move

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LAS VEGAS — If there are hard feelings between the Mavericks and the Knicks over Jalen Brunson, Mark Cuban did a good job of hiding any animosity. 

The Dallas owner had only positive things to say on Friday about the point guard who has agreed to a four-year, $104 million deal to join the Knicks. 

“Jalen earned the right to do that,” Cuban told The Post from the NBA summer league at the Thomas and Mack Center. “NBA teams always say, well, it’s a business when you trade somebody or whatever, and it’s a business. He earned the right to make a decision as a free agent. So he made the choice. More power to him. I wish him nothing but the best. 

“Jalen is a great basketball player. That’s why we wanted to keep him. The Knicks will love him; the city will love him. The thing about Jalen, you give him a task and tell him where to improve his game, he’ll work his ass off to do it. You guys got a good one.” 

Jalen Brunson
Getty Images

Brunson, 25, developed into a difference-maker with the Mavericks after getting selected in the second round in 2018. He helped Dallas reach the Western Conference final this year after a breakout postseason performance saw him average 21.6 points in 18 playoff games. 

When asked about reports of potential tampering by the Knicks, Cuban smiled. 

“That’s up to the NBA, that’s not my job” the owner said. 

The Knicks hired Brunson’s father, Rick, to join coach Tom Thibodeau’s staff, and team president Leon Rose’s son, Sam, is Brunson’s agent. 

Cuban also didn’t have a problem with Knicks executives William Wesley and Allan Houston, along with forward Julius Randle, attending an opening-round playoff game between the Mavericks and Jazz, which drew headlines at the time. 

“Oh, I don’t care. They can buy tickets,” Cuban said. “Being at a playoff game doesn’t change anything.” 

Mark Cuban
NBAE via Getty Images

Two other members of the Mavericks, coach Jason Kidd and former Knick Reggie Bullock, also discussed Brunson’s departure on Friday. 

“We can’t replace Brunson. He’s a great player,” Kidd said on ESPN. “I’m happy for him and his family, signing a deal in New York. It’s well deserved. We wanted him back, but he picked New York.” 

Bullock, who enjoyed a strong season with the Knicks in 2020-21 but wasn’t brought back, had similar positive things to say about Brunson. 

He did offer an interesting thought on him joining the Knicks, though. 

“That’s his problem, that’s him,” Bullock, who is close with Randle and Thibodeau, told The Post. He later said: “He’ll do great. Great off-the-court guy. … Great point guard, works hard, he’s going to lead them into the right direction.” 

Cuban declined to say if the Mavericks considered upping their offer to Brunson. ESPN had reported they were only willing to offer him a five-year deal in the ballpark of the four-year, $85 million deal Raptors guard Fred VanVleet signed in 2020. Brunson declined a four-year, $55.5 million contract from Dallas after the trade deadline, and now he is a Knick. 

“I’m happy for him. It’s not like he was just some guy, well, he was just a player, he got his money,” Cuban said. “He’s a good guy, man. He’s got a heart of gold. There’s nothing not to like.” 

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Jalen Brunson’s Derrick Rose connection may lead him to Knicks

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Derrick Rose’s value may go beyond what he can produce on the floor for the Knicks. His presence alone could contribute to landing their priority in free agency.

The veteran guard is yet another link between the Knicks and coveted point guard Jalen Brunson, their bond tracing back to Brunson’s formative years in Illinois when Rose was the Bulls’ star point guard and Brunson had dreams of playing in the NBA one day.

“Jalen would go over to the Bulls facility and practice with the Bulls players,” Pat Ambrose, Brunson’s coach at Adlai Stevenson High School who remains close to him, told The Post in a phone interview. “That’s where he became good friends with Derrick Rose. So your story gets deep with the Knicks. Derrick saw that young Jalen was a very, very good player and Derrick was a Chicago kid, and really started to mentor Jalen basketball-wise.”

Back then, Brunson’s father, Rick, was an assistant on coach Tom Thibodeau’s staff, the same role he now has with the Knicks. It’s yet another layer, on top of Brunson’s relationship with Thibodeau, president Leon Rose and executive William Wesley — in addition to the fact Rose’s son, Sam, is Brunson’s agent — that may work in the Knicks’ favor as they look to land the talented 25-year-old who is coming off a career year.

Jalen Brunson and Derrick Rose
Getty Images; AP

They began to create salary cap space on Thursday to pay Brunson big money, trading out of the first round and dealing Kemba Walker to the Pistons, creating what is now $18 million of room. There is still work to be done, with Alec Burks and Nerlens Noel potentially getting moved, so the Knicks can make the former Villanova star an enticing offer. Brunson grew up in southern New Jersey before moving to Lincolnshire, Ill., for middle school and still has roots in the area, owning a home on the Jersey Shore. His mother, Sandra, is a big Giants football fan.

“I’m sure Leon Rose will play up all those ties,” Ambrose said. “I would not be surprised [if he wound up with the Knicks]. … The positive thing for the Knicks is he chose to go back home one time [for college] and there was success. Maybe he chooses to go back home again.”

The coach later added: “He likes Dallas, I know he likes Dallas. But he’s a [New] Jersey/New York guy.”

Brunson’s priority remains to be seen. In picking a college, he opted for Villanova over Michigan State and Illinois for multiple reasons, according to Ambrose. As his coach said, Brunson liked the idea of returning to the northeast and joining a winning program. It didn’t bother him that as a McDonald’s All-American he initially would take a backseat to Ryan Arcidiacono and not have the ball in his hands from the jump, as he would’ve at other schools. That unselfishness could work against the Knicks, since they will be selling the two-time national champion on the opportunity for a bigger role.

The Mavericks, meanwhile, are in a far better spot as a franchise after reaching the Western Conference Finals with Brunson playing a major role, albeit as Luka Doncic’s wingman.

“Being the man I wouldn’t say would be a top thing for him,” Ambrose said. “Putting the ball in his hands, any NBA player wants that, but he wants to win. I know winning is important to him and I know that something he really prides himself on is causing wins and making wins. That’s always his focus.”

There obviously remains a lot of uncertainty a week before the start of the free agency period. The Knicks still need to clear more cap space. Though Ambrose said he wouldn’t be surprised if Brunson winds up a Knicks, his former star player also enjoys playing for the Mavericks, who can offer him five years compared to the Knicks’ four. In Dallas, the former second-round pick has developed into a strong NBA player and is coming off a long playoff run in which he was somewhat of a breakout star, averaging 21.6 points per game.

It is also unclear how much money the Mavericks are willing to pay to keep Brunson, if they would go the extra yard like the Knicks appear primed to do.

“Not so much that money talks, but how much more money?” Ambrose wondered. “If Dallas slightly insults him with a low ball offer and New York shows it really, really wants him, it could change things.

“He’s also a young man that knows that he can help build a winner, he can work on that, and the future in the NBA can be pretty fleeting, whether it be an injury or drafts and things like that. He obviously knows Tom Thibodeau real well and knows that guy knows how to build winners.”

The Knicks have reportedly added a second player on an Exhibit 10 contract in forward Garrison Brooks. The 6-foot-9 Brooks spent this past year at Mississippi State, where he averaged 10.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and shot 34.2 percent from 3-point range. He previously attended North Carolina.

Thursday night, the Knicks signed guard Jean Montero to an Exhibit 10 deal. The 6-foot-2 Montero comes from the new high school league, Overtime Elite, that pays players. An Exhibit 10 contract includes an invite to training camp and summer league.

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Jalen Brunson, Maxi Kleber help Dallas Mavericks even series against Utah Jazz with Luka Doncic out

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DALLAS — The formula the Dallas Mavericks used to pull off their series-evening 110-104 win in Monday’s Game 2 felt painfully familiar to the Utah Jazz.

Without injured superstar Luka Doncic, the Mavs opened the floor by playing five-out offense, consistently exploiting the Jazz’s shoddy perimeter defense to create a plethora of open 3-point looks. It was a script quite similar to the one that the LA Clippers used last year to reel off four straight wins after losing Kawhi Leonard to a torn ACL, eliminating the Jazz in the second round.

“The good thing is it’s Game 2,” Jazz center Rudy Gobert said. “It’s not Game 6 with the series on the line. We’ve got a lot of time to watch film, to adjust, all of us individually and collectively to see the things we can do better and go from there.”

One of the primary problems the Jazz need to solve is figuring out whether anybody on the roster is capable of staying in front of Mavs point guard Jalen Brunson. He had a career night with 41 points and five assists, becoming the first player in franchise history to score that many points without committing a turnover in a playoff game.

The constant penetration off the dribble by Brunson and guard Spencer Dinwiddie played a major role in the Mavs breaking the franchise postseason record by making 22 3s on 47 attempts. Time after time, Gobert was forced to retreat into the paint to protect the rim, leading to kick-out passes that led to wide-open 3s. The biggest beneficiary was Mavs reserve center Maxi Kleber, who scored 25 points on 8-of-11 3-point shooting.

According to ESPN Stats & Information research, 17 of the Mavs’ made 3s were uncontested, the most by any team over the past 10 postseasons. That included seven of Kleber’s eight 3s, a potentially series-shifting performance for a shooter who had been in an extended slump.

“Every time I was open, I shot the ball,” Kleber said. “We analyzed how they play defense and where the looks are coming from. You’ve got to be ready to shoot and just let it fly.”

Kleber shot only 18.8% from 3-point range from the All-Star break until the end of the regular season, and he was hampered by ankle soreness for much of that time, sitting out the final four games to recover. He made almost as many 3s in Monday’s win as he did in all of March, when he was 9-of-51 from long distance.

“The beauty is his teammates trust him,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. “He has to shoot them, because he can shoot, and today he made them. We’re going to need him. No matter if he makes or misses, it just creates space.”

The performances by Brunson and Kleber conjured up memories of the havoc wreaked by a couple of Clippers, Reggie Jackson and Terance Mann, while eliminating the Jazz.

Jackson was the point guard who rose to the occasion when pushed into more of a primary offensive role due to a star’s injury, scoring 27 points in the series finale. Mann was the unanticipated 3-point sniper, going 7-of-10 from 3-point range during a career-best 39-point performance.

Jazz star Donovan Mitchell acknowledged the similarities, stating that the Jazz’s biggest problem is on-ball perimeter defense. But Mitchell noted one major difference from that series. The Jazz are healthy, unlike then, when he was hobbled by a sprained ankle and point guard Mike Conley missed all but the series finale due to a strained hamstring.

“I don’t really look at it as, ‘Oh man, here we go again, same thing as last year,'” said Mitchell, who led the Jazz with 34 points on 13-of-30 shooting. “I look at is as, we can go do what we’re supposed to do. You’ve got to give credit where credit is due — Jalen had a hell of a game, Kleber had a hell of a game. We can make it easier on the guy guarding the ball by shifting.

“I don’t think any of us are looking at it like, ‘Ah, like it’s last year all over again,’ because we’re healthy. We can do this.”

The Mavs, who felt like an off shooting day cost them a Game 1 win, feel confident that they can compete in the series with or without Doncic.

Sources told ESPN that there is hope Doncic will play at some point in the series, but it would be premature to predict when he will be ready to return from the strained left calf he suffered during the April 10 regular-season finale. Kidd said Monday morning that Doncic “is definitely going in the right direction,” and the two-time first-team All-NBA selection went through an extended pregame shooting workout without putting much stress on the calf by pushing off of that leg.

“I know he’s dying to get out there soon, but he’s got to take his time,” Brunson said. “I know he’s doing everything in his power to not let his team down, but he has to make the decision that’s best for him. Not necessarily knowing where he is [in the recovery process], but I just know that he’s a competitor and he wants to be out there. We’re trying to hold it down for him.”

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