Jalen Brunson injury adds insult as New York Knicks' season comes to a stunning end

The New York Knicks' season ends in Game 7 against the Indiana Pacers as Jalen Brunson goes down with broken hand.

The New York Knicks' season is officially over. After seven hard-fought games in the Eastern Conference semifinals, it's the Indiana Pacers that will make a return to the Eastern Conference Finals and not the Knicks. This will be Indiana's first time in the conference finals since 2014.

To add injury to insult, not only did OG Anunony only manage to play a few minutes before having to leave the game (due to his lingering hamstring injury) but Jalen Brunson also left the game with a broken hand. Even if the Knicks found a way to miraculously come back late in the fourth quarter, they likely would've had to play the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics without Brunson in the lineup.

The Knicks will be able to heal their wounds during the offseason and should be back to full healthy by the start of next season, but there's no question that this season ended in stunning fashion. For as dominant as the Knicks were at home throughout the NBA Playoffs, you almost expected them to win Game 7 against the Pacers and punch their ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 24 years.

In the end, it simply wasn't their year. The injuries finally appeared to catch up with New York and it's hard to say that they didn't do everything to leave it all on the floor. They did and, in Game 7, it simply wasn't enough.

The New York Knicks have a bright future

Even though the Knicks' season ended somewhat abruptly, there's no question that New York may be the one non-Boston team in the Eastern Conference with the brightest future. Assuming they'll be able to re-sign Anunoby, the Knicks will be primed for a big year next season.

And with the assets to make another bold move this summer, the Knicks will be able to continue to add to their strong core during the offseason. If that's something New York will be able to pull off, the Knicks could be considered one of the favorites to come out of the East next season.

New York had a great season. But there are clearly strides that need to be taken to help this team emerge as an even bigger threat next season. Make no mistake, the Knicks are on the right track and we likely haven't seen the best of this core.