Knicks’ Jalen Brunson cleared for basketball activities

Per Tim Bontemps of ESPN (via Twitter), Brunson told gathered reporters that his ankle was on the mend, though he did not have a particular target date in his purview. He did not clarify what exactly he has been cleared to do yet.

Ian Begley of SNY.tv tweets that Brunson aspires to “realistically” rejoin his New York comrades prior to the start of this spring’s playoffs.

Brunson, 28, had looked likely to earn a second consecutive All-NBA berth prior to his health issues. He has played 61 games this season and needs to reach the 65-game mark to earn an All-NBA nod. While healthy, he’s been spectacular. The Villanova alum is averaging 26.3 PPG, 7.4 APG and 3.0 RPG for New York. He’s logging a .490/.384/.825 slash line.

Two of Brunson’s primary backups, Miles McBride and Cameron Payne, have also been on the shelf for multiple games with a left groin contusion and a right ankle sprain, respectively.

Most recently, Delon Wright earned the starting point guard nod in an eventual road victory against Milwaukee on Friday.

At 46-27, the Knicks are currently the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference, although No. 4-seeded Indiana is lurking.