Knicks Notes: How Jalen Brunson fared in return from ankle injury

Jalen Brunson played in an NBA basketball game for the first time in four weeks on Sunday -- as youd expect, his rhythm was a little off, his conditioning was less than 100 percent.

Those things will come back with time.

The best sign for the Knicks on Sunday? Brunson didnt hesitate in any of his movement on the court.

Everyone always talks about the physical part about how youre feeling.

But mentally its just trusting (the ankle).

Trusting your movement.

Trusting the way you play and not second-guessing yourself, Brunson said.

That was an adjustment, but Im feeling a lot better.Brunson logged 34 minutes on Sunday -- it was his first game since March 6, when he suffered a significant ankle sprain.

He didnt have a hard minutes limit against Phoenix.

With Jalen and (associate athletic trainer Anthony Goenaga), if theres fatigue, hell tell us.

And theyre watching him pretty closely, Thibodeau said.

Brunson said his conditioning was better than anticipated.

Thats probably because he was diligent in his conditioning during rehab.

Right now, its more his timing, Thibodeau said.

Hes got to play.

Theres no way around that.

He practiced well the other day but the intensity of practice can never be replicated to what the game is.

Brunson will have four more games before the postseason.

If he plays in three of those games, he will be eligible for end-of-season awards.

PLAYING UNTIL THE ENDThe Knicks need one win -- or one Pacers loss -- to clinch the No.

3 seed in the Eastern Conference.

IF and when they clinch the third seed, dont expect them to rest in the final games of the season.

As you head down the stretch, you want to check boxes, Tom Thibodeau said after Sunday's win over the Suns.

You want a winning record at home, a winning record on the road.

Fifty wins is good.

You want the highest seed possible.

And then you want to be playing well.

So you go step by step.

Were not skipping over anything.

And this is the approach weve taken all season long.

Were not going to change now so we think thisll help prepare us for whats down the road.Is this the right approach? Or is it better to rest players after the Knicks clinch the third seed?The answer to those questions will reveal themselves in the playoffs.

Minutes have been -- and will be -- a topic of public debate around Thibodeau until he retires.

Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart rank first and second in the NBA in overall minutes played.

OG Anunoby entered play Sunday ranked 11th in total minutes.To some, this is a sign that the players should sit once the Knicks clinch the No.

3 seed.

But Thibodeau doesnt see it that way.

He wants his teams to be playing their best at the end of the regular season.

Its one of his bedrock principles.

That means playing regular minutes until the end even if the games have no bearing on the standings.

(It should be noted here that the Knicks will have at least five days between the end of the regular season and the start of the postseason.

So they have a built-in rest period.)PISTONS IN FIRST ROUND? If the season ended today, the Knicks would face the Pistons in the first round of the playoffs.

Detroit, led by Cade Cunningham, has won two games at Madison Square Garden this year.

They are playing at a high level.

Veteran Tobias Harris has been part of the turnaround thats seen Detroit triple it's win total from last season.

Harris, a Long Island native, took a lot of heat in Philadelphia for the Sixers shortcomings.

The Sixers last year won 57 percent of their games with Harris.

This season, Philadelphia is winning at an abysmal 29 percent clip..

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