Karl-Anthony Towns said it was a case of one of his New York Knicks team-mates stepping up to the plate following Jalen Brunson's injury against the Los Angeles Lakers. (More NBA News)
Brunson scored a game-high 39 points, but injured his ankle and was in the locker room for the final moments of overtime as the Knicks fell to the Lakers, 113-109, on Thursday.
The 28-year-old added 10 assists to his tally, sending the game into overtime with a three-point play after the Lakers rallied from a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter.
The Lakers extended their winning run to eight, and the Knicks dropped their first match of the five-game West Coast trip, while also losing their first game in overtime this term.
Brunson is seventh in the league in scoring (26.3 points per game) and eighth in assists (7.4), could now miss an extended period, which comes as a huge blow for the Knicks.
"His mental toughness is through the roof," head coach Tom Thibodeau said about Brunson, who was 13 of 26 from the field and made 12 of his 13 foul shots.
"It doesn't surprise me the way he played the whole game. He still keeps battling and battling."
New York, who바카라 웹사이트are바카라 웹사이트40-22 and in third place in the Eastern Conference, remain바카라 웹사이트in Southern California to face the Los Angeles Clippers바카라 웹사이트before taking on the Sacramento Kings.바카라 웹사이트
They then face the Portland Trail Blazers two days later before rounding off their West Coast trip with a clash against a revived Golden State Warriors on March 15.
And Towns said his team-mates must continue to look forward and maintain their position without Brunson in their ranks.바카라 웹사이트
"It's next man up," center바카라 웹사이트Karl-Anthony Towns바카라 웹사이트said. "He's a huge part of our team. We've been playing with grit and have to go out there and do it again."
