Knicks injury update: Jalen Brunson, Bojan Bogdanovic undergo surgery after second-round playoff exit

Knicks injury update: Jalen Brunson, Bojan Bogdanovic undergo surgery after second-round playoff exit

The New York Knicks announced that All-Star guard Jalen Brunsonunderwent surgery on his fractured left hand and will be re-evaluated in six to eight weeks. Brunson suffered the injury during the Knicks' Game 7 loss to the Indiana Pacers in the second round of the playoffs. It was a massive blow to the Knicks, who at the time of Brunson's injury, were down 12 points in the third quarter.

Brunson stayed in the game for about a minute and a half before being subbed out and going back to the locker room. He then returned a minute later but was quickly taken out after one possession. He went straight to the locker room and remained there for the rest of the game. Three minutes into the fourth quarter it was finally announced that he would miss the remainder of the game with a fractured hand.

After the game, Brunson told the media that he fractured his hand when he tried to swipe at the ball on a Tyrese Haliburton drive and hit his hand on Haliburton's leg.

"I thought I just jammed it, to be honest with you," Brunson said. "I looked down and knew something was wrong."

Here's where the injury occurred:

Brunson's injury felt like the final blow to a Knicks playoff run -- and season -- that was filled with a litany of injuries. Heading into that Game 7 there were concerns about Josh Hart being able to play with an abdomen injury, and OG Anunoby was returning from a four-game absence due to a hamstring strain. Julius Randle was already ruled out for the postseason after undergoing shoulder surgery. Mitchell Robinson got hurt during New York's first-round series and was ultimately shut down with a stress injury in his left ankle. Bojan Bogdanovic played in just four games before being shut down with a foot injury. He's since undergone surgery, and will be reevaluated in six to eight weeks.

Despite all those injuries though, the Knicks weathered the storm. But when Brunson went out, it was the last domino to fall, as his absence was just too much to overcome. While all those injuries cost the Knicks a chance at reaching the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2000, the silver lining here is that this Knicks team is built to make another deep postseason run next year.

Brunson proved to be one of the best and toughest point guards in the league this season and put up monster numbers in the playoffs to help compensate for all the injuries to the Knicks roster. Hart and Donte DiVincenzo are the perfect complementary pieces that give just as much effort on both sides of the ball. They'll get a full season with Anunoby, as long as contract details are worked out. Randle will be back healthy, and at the very least he could be a trade candidate to go out and get additional pieces.

While it's difficult to look past this tough moment for the Knicks, this successful season was just the beginning for New York.