Oklahoma City Thunder rookie Aleksej Pokusevski will return to the court on Friday night against the New York Knicks.
Pokusevski missed the last two games after suffering a concussion during practice on Sunday when he fell and his head collided with another player’s knee.
Head coach Mark Daigneault confirmed that Pokusevski will play, but he did not commit to a minute mark, saying the team would evaluate during the game.
“He’s going to be right back in the mix. I won’t speak to the minutes, we’ll kind of see how it’s going,” Daigneault said during a Zoom press conference prior to the game.
Pokusevski has averaged about 16 minutes per game. He has struggled mightily to put the ball in the hoop, scoring five total points over the first five games, but he has rebounded and ran the floor well. He is averaging 3.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists and one block and steal apiece per game.
Isaiah Roby played both games that Pokusevski missed. Overall, he had eight points on 3-for-7 shooting in 35 minutes of play between the two games.
Without Pokusevski, the Thunder went 1-1, falling to the Miami Heat but taking down the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Friday night game against the Knicks is scheduled to tip off at 6:30 p.m. at Madison Square Garden.