Jalen Brunson was able to practice on Sunday and is listed as questionable to play Monday against Houston at the Garden after missing Thursday’s loss in Orlando due to a sprained right wrist.
Head coach Tom Thibodeau said the point guard “did everything in practice” on Sunday and the team will assess his readiness to play Monday.
“He seemed fine,’’ said Thibodeau, who added he was unaware if Brunson underwent any imaging on the wrist.
“He looked pretty good,” Immanuel Quickley said. “When we shot, he was shooting with me. We just have to see how he feels [Monday].”
The Knicks have been without Brunson for six of their past 10 games, first because of a sore left foot.
In the six games Brunson was forced to sit out, the Knicks went 3-3 as part of a 4-6 overall during the 10-game stretch.
“You don’t replace a guy like Jalen individually,’’ Thibodeau said. “You have to do that collectively. That’s why we’ve got to rely on defense and rebounding and sharing the ball and doing it that way. We’ve got some great wins like that.”
The Knicks and DaQuan Jeffries have agreed to a contract.
According to The Athletic, it is a multiyear deal.
The 6-foot-5 shooting guard was on a 10-day contract, but has yet to appear in a game for the Knicks.
Jeffries, 25, played in three games with Memphis last season.
He has been in the league since 2019 and has averaged 3.8 points in 47 games over parts of four seasons.
During the three-game losing streak the Knicks will take into Monday’s game against the Rockets, they allowed 126 points per game.
Not surprisingly, defense was a focal point of Sunday’s practice.
“Defense has been the biggest thing we talked about,’’ Quickley said. “Throughout the season, you have ups and downs. You try to stay focused on the task at hand and make sure you’re playing your best basketball down the stretch.”
RJ Barrett noted the shaky team defense, of late, as well.
“We’ve got to clean that up,’’ Barrett said. “Once we do that, we’ll be OK. … We have to make sure we don’t give guys good looks.”
With the Knicks trying to avoid the play-in round, it’s natural to scoreboard watch.
“You know where you are in the standings,” Barrett said. “You kind of know what’s going on [around the league]. Really, how you eliminate all that extra thinking is you’ve got to win the next game. Focus on winning that game and the next game and one-by-one, you’re gonna be in a good position.”
