CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The New York Knicks remain hopeful that Jalen Brunson can play in a few games before the postseason, coach Tom Thibodeau said Thursday.
Thibodeau said Brunson will be checked again on Friday, about two weeks after he sprained his right ankle in a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
“He’s doing light shooting and he’s out of the boot,” Thibodeau said before the Knicks' game at the Charlotte Hornets. “So there’s steady progress and we’ll see where it goes from there.”
Thibodeau said he expected Brunson to play before the Knicks’ April 13 regular-season finale.
“Whenever he’s ready, he’s ready,” Thibodeau said. “He’s putting a lot into his rehab. That’s what he can control right now. So that’s where we want his focus to be. Hopefully, he’ll get some games where he can work himself back into it.”
The Knicks announced Brunson would be out at least two weeks after suffering the injury during overtime in the Knicks’ 113-109 loss to the Lakers on March 6.
Brunson, who is seventh in the league in scoring (26.3 points per game) and eighth in assists (7.4 per game), rolled his right ankle with 1:24 remaining in overtime after landing on the foot of Lakers guard Austin Reaves after being fouled on a drive to the basket.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA
New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson gestures after scoring during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Lakers Thursday, March 6, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson writhes in pain after getting injured during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Thursday, March 6, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) — Kyle Larson is tired of his weekends at Homestead-Miami Speedway ending in disappointment.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver has won a NACAR Cup Series race and Xfinity Series race in his career at the South Florida track, but he mostly just remembers the heartbreaks there.
Last year it was a 13th-place finish in the playoff race. On Saturday, it was a late collapse in the Xfinity Series that cost him a chance of sweeping the weekend.
Larson, who is competing in the Cup, Xfinity and Craftsman Truck races at the 1.5-mile track in Homestead, was hoping to join Kyle Busch as the only drivers to sweep a triple-header weekend — Busch did it at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2010 and 2017.
Larson got off to a good start, rallying from a late-race spinout to pull off a comeback win in the Truck Series on Friday.
In the Xfinity Series on Saturday, it looked like he was on his way to a dominant win. He held a 16-second lead in the race before a late spin by Taylor Gray caused a caution with seven laps to go. On the overtime restart, Sam Mayer's No. 41 Ford made contact with the back of Larson's No. 17 Chevrolet, costing him the win.
“Bummer, again, to have another Homestead race play out that way," Larson said. "I can't go when my rear tires are off the ground. So I know it looks like I choked another one away, but I did everything I thought I could (to win). The 41 just lagged back and slammed me.”
Larson led 132 of 201 laps and finished fourth. It was another disappointing end at one of his best tracks.
Larson has five top-five finishes in 11 Cup starts in his career at Homestead — two driving the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. He’s led the most laps (626) of any active driver, and his 12 stage wins in the Next Gen car is a series best. No other driver has more than five stage wins.
Larson finished fourth in 2021 and won the race in 2022 but left frustrated the past two years.
He was out of the race at Lap 214 in 2023 after slamming into the pit road barriers trying to overtake Ryan Blaney for the lead. Last year, Larson’s winning chance ended when he spun while racing Blaney for the lead with under 20 laps to go.
“I feel like every time I go there (to Homestead) you leave disappointed because you feel like you have the best car or truck, and things don’t work out,” Larson said this week. “Whether it’s mistakes on my end or ill-timed cautions combined with a hiccup on pit road, or whatever late in the race, and you end up losing.
“Literally all but maybe two or three races at Homestead I felt like we had the best car, best chance of winning, and we don’t have the wins to show for it.”
NASCAR sent out a clarification to race teams in all three national series on pitting in another team’s pit stall after Christopher Bell stopped in the pit stall of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe to have a loose left wheel tightened during the Pennzoil 400 in Las Vegas last weekend.
If a vehicle gets service in another team’s pit stall to fix a safety issue, it will receive a flag status penalty, NASCAR said, and they’ll either have to restart at the tail of the field or receive a pass-through for pitting outside the assigned pit box.
The left-front wheel was loose on Bell’s No. 20 Toyota when he was exiting pit road last week. If the wheel came off after he exited pit road, Bell would have been penalized two laps and had two pit crew members suspended for the next two races. He stopped in Briscoe’s stall for service instead, was dinged for pitting outside the box and only had to restart at the back of the field. He finished 12th.
NASCAR listed tightening loose wheels, removing a fuel can or a wedge wrench as examples of safety issues.
Joe Gibbs Racing announced Tuesday that the organization signed an agreement with Progressive Insurance to sponsor Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota Camry in 18 NASCAR Cup Series races this season, starting with Sunday’s race in Homestead.
Progressive’s name and blue branding will be displayed on Hamlin’s car and race suit, and his crew will wear Progressive branded gear.
“It’s good for them (Joe Gibbs Racing) to have an anchor partner,” Hamlin said, “and certainly for my fans’ sake, they’re going to be able to identify me week-to-week. And I think that’s something that certainly is very important. So feeling out those 18 races is going to be a big deal for myself and Gibbs throughout the year.”
Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman won the pole for Sunday’s race while driving a No. 48 Toyota that promotes the 3-on-3 women’s basketball league Unrivaled, which just wrapped up its inaugural season in Miami.
It’s the sixth career pole for Bowman, who was followed by Josh Berry — the winner at Las Vegas last weekend — Noah Gragson, Briscoe and William Byron.
Larson (+375) is the BetMGM Sportsbook favorite, followed by Tyler Reddick (+600). Larson’s 1,286 total miles led on the 1.5-mile tracks is almost double that of any other driver. Bell is second with 614. ... Reddick won the race last year, while Hamlin leads active drivers with three wins (2009, ’13, ’20).
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Kyle Larson drives during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
