The New York Knicks knew Jalen Brunson wouldn’t be able to play. Then they got another surprise when the player who was supposed to replace him couldn’t play either.
Without their top scorer and with their third-choice point guard starting, the Knicks beat the Utah Jazz 119-103 on Wednesday night, claiming their ninth consecutive win.
Brunson was ruled out about 40 minutes before the game due to right calf tightness. Deuce McBride was expected to start in his place. However, McBride developed left hamstring tightness and was removed from the game just before it began.
“Probably like right before they called the lineups,” said Cam Payne, who was then told he would start. “Halfway thought they weren’t going to call my name. I thought they were going to call Deuce and I was going to have to run out there, honestly. That’s how close it was to the lineups.”
Payne finished with eight points and nine assists. The Knicks turned to rookie Tyler Kolek to back him up for 12 minutes off the bench.
Kolek had already played 40 minutes in a G League game earlier in the day, scoring 36 points and adding 11 assists in the Westchester Knicks’ overtime win against Indiana. He played just 12 minutes against Utah, finishing with two points and four assists.
Brunson scored a season-high 55 points in a win at Washington on Saturday, but then struggled in a 6-for-17 shooting performance two nights later in the rematch.
Brunson, who leads the Knicks with 25.2 points per game, was a key player for them last season, but they often struggled offensively when he had an off night. On Wednesday, without him, the team finished with 31 assists, including 12 from Josh Hart, who recorded his second straight triple-double. The Knicks shot 55% from the field.
“It just shows a difference between last year and this year,” Hart said. “Last year, him out, not sure how that would have went.”
