Knicks’ Jalen Brunson returns after being sidelined for 15 games

Thirty days, 15 games and some big-time offensive performances from his teammates.

That’s what Jalen Brunson missed as he recovered from the  right ankle sprain he suffered on March 6.

The Knicks’ captain returned to the floor on Sunday night and received a loud ovation from a Madison Square Garden crowd that hopes  he can quickly return to the All-Star form he displayed before the injury.

Brunson looked more than a little rusty early, recording five points and three assists in 15:06 during the first half against Phoenix. Despite taking a 53-43 halftime lead, the Knicks were a minus-2 with him on the floor, making him the only starter with a minus rating at that point. He had nine points and five assists in 27:06 through three quarters and was a plus-5 as the Knicks built an 87-70 lead.

Without Brunson, the Knicks (49-28) went 9-6 since the game against the Lakers in Los Angeles in which he was injured. They entered Sunday’s game with the ability to lock up the third seed in the Eastern Conference.

One reason the Knicks have been able to hang on to third place without their floor leader has been the increased contributions of OG Anunoby.

The 6-7 wing averaged 23.3 points and 16.8 field-goal attempts in the 15 games without Brunson. In the 56 games before Brunson’s injury, Anunoby averaged 16.4 points and 13.0 shots per game. He entered Sunday’s game averaging 27.1 points in the previous nine games.

Can Anunoby still contribute that level of offensive production now that  the Knicks’ ball-dominant point guard has returned? Coach Tom Thibodeau made it clear after the Knicks’ win in Atlanta on Saturday that he doesn’t even think the issue merits discussion.

“All that stuff, that stuff, it’s white noise,” Thibodeau said. “The game tells you what to do. Whose shot is it in transition? The open man. And if there’s two defenders on somebody, whose shot is it? You have the responsibility as a primary scorer to make the right play. The notion that it has to be this way, that way, there has to be a willingness to sacrifice by everybody.

“The team has to come first. What’s best for our team? What gives the team the best chance to win? And that’s all anyone should be thinking about. They shouldn’t be thinking about who’s doing this, who’s doing that. That’s not the way this game works. If you care about winning, that stuff shouldn’t matter.”

When a reporter then pointed out how Anunoby is “spending less time in corners” without Brunson on the floor and pressed Thibodeau about whether he will become a secondary thought in the offense, Thibodeau sent a message that he expects Anunoby to keep producing offensively.

“He’s never been [just a floor spacer] exclusively. That notion is a bunch of garbage,” Thibodeau said. “I’ll tell you another thing: I value the corners a lot more than most people. That’s the most valuable spot on the floor.

“He’s all over the floor. That’s how he’s scoring. That’s how everyone’s scoring,” he said. “If you drive-pass-pass, who’s supposed to be in the corner? And if you’re cutting and moving without the ball — which is what you’re supposed to do — and the guy in front of you cuts, you replace in front. That’s how the game works. That’s a bunch of excuse-making, and that’s the way I see it.”

Anunoby isn’t the only one who stepped up his offensive production in Brunson’s absence. Mikal Bridges averaged 20.5 points in the 15 games without Brunson after averaging 17.2 in the previous 62 games.

“[Bridges] and OG being in a good rhythm offensively, that’s a good thing,” Josh Hart said. “Sometimes, especially in the first two or three quarters, Jalen can defer to them a little bit more, not waste so much energy offensively and give a little bit more defensively. And then, obviously, the fourth quarter when it’s time to win, that’s when he has the ball in his hands.”

Karl-Anthony Towns believes that the team learned something by  having to play without both Brunson and backup point guard Deuce McBride, who missed eight straight games before returning Sunday.

“I know any team would be much improved with Deuce McBride and Jalen Brunson,” Towns said on Saturday, adding that the growth the Knicks have been forced to have without them will make them a much better team in the end.