Knicks Address Late Absences of Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart

Unlucky medical serendipity forced the "Roommates" out of the game with 2:57 remaining in regulation and factors both within and beyond the Knicks' control kept them sidelined until there were but 27 seconds and a deficit of six left on the scoreboard.

Despite the point guard and captain's noticeable struggles from the field (4-of-16 on Tuesday night), the stage was set for more clutch dramatics from Brunson: as the clock dipped under four minutes, New York was keeping pace with the Pistons and tied the game at 95-all with a three-pointer from Karl-Anthony Towns.

Brunson, however, wasn't on that end of the floor to witness that triple: while chasing Cade Cunningham on the prior defensive possession, Brunson appeared to aggravate the right ankle that affected most of his March and postponed his heroics in Game 4 of the series on Sunday. He was attempting gingerly walk despite the ailment as Towns succeeded from deep.

He was hunched over the Knick sideline during a New York timeout with 2:57 left, one necessitated when Hart remained crumbled on the floor after a physical get-together with Cunningham. While Hart temporarily prevented a Cunningham drive, an open Jalen Duren picked up the loose ball and slammed it home for a two-point lead that proved to be permanent.

Brunson and Hart were respective replaced by Miles McBride and Cameron Payne. While the two Wildcats quickly moved back to the scorer's table to check back in after their respective incidents, a nightmare scenario reduced them to spectators for most of the final three minutes.

On the next Knick possession, Tobias Harris rejected a Towns double, which turned into another Duren dunk with 2:31 left. A Mikal Bridges misfire gave Detroit another opportunity to expand the lead and Cunningham did so in eight-foot double that made it 101-95 with 1:57 left.

Even with the vital fifth game slipping way, Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau opted not to use his last timeout to get Brunson and Hart back in. Sitting in the penalty situation, which afforded Detroit two shots no matter the foul, also hurt in such a narrow game—one where the Knicks shot less than 60 percent from the foul line.

Head coach Tom Thibodeau shouldered the blame in the aftermath, reasoning it was not an easy decision to have Brunson and Hart sit while their teammates tried in vain to erase the Piston lead that reached as high as 10.

"It's just where we were with the timeouts -- it was a coach's decision," Thibodeau said, per Chris Herring of ESPN. "Time. Score. Penalty. All of the above. There's a lot that goes into it."

The Knicks finally broke through with a Mikal Bridges jumper with 50 ticks left, but the Pistons added cushioning and awkwardness when Ausar Thompson immediately re-established the six-point lead 23 seconds later. Only then did the Knicks call their final timeout of the night, one that finally allowed Brunson and Hart to get back on the floor.

Alas for the Knicks, it was too little and too late, as things mostly devolved into late game sloppiness and free throw contests to create the final margin. Brunson nearly got the ball back in a one-possession game but he was unable to swipe it back before Detroit was awarded a return to the foul line to help create the final margin.

New York staged one last rescue effort that ultimately fell short: three-pointers from Bridges and OG Anunoby narrowed the gap to one and there was still a fighting chance within the last few seconds despite successful Cunningham free throws to return the lead to its state of three.

McBride, however, was intentionally fouled before he could set-up an equalizer and missed the first of two awarded tries. He attempted to misfire the latter try intentionally to create a battle for a rebound, but that subsequent scrum effectively ran the clock out and doomed the Knicks to another visit to Little Caesars Arena on Thursday night.

Though the replacements struggled to keep his seat warm in Game 5, Brunson reiterated his faith in his teammates, which could do wonders for team morale as it faces a downright deadly challenge in the Motor City less than 48 hours after being dealt a stunner that kept the series alive.

"I have the utmost faith, regardless of the result, in my teammates," Brunson said, per Dan Devine of Yahoo! Sports. 'Whoever’s out there, trust, faith, belief, all that. I’ll always have that for my teammates.”