OG Anunoby fully expects to be a great fit in the Knicks and Tom Thibodeau's system, and the two-way standout showed just why in his active team debut following his trade from the Raptors on Saturday.
Anunoby scored 17 points and was a game-high plus-19 in 35 minutes before fouling out late in the fourth quarter, allowing the reborn 2024 Knicks to build a 22-point lead and lead the West by 112 points. They persevered until they won with a score of 106. -The first-place Timberwolves ended a three-game losing streak Sunday at the Garden.
Julius Randle led the Knicks with 39 points (18-15), Jalen Brunson had 16 points and a career-high 14 assists, and for Minnesota, Anthony Edwards had 35 points and Karl-Anthony Towns scored 29 points (24 wins, 8 losses).
Anunoby, 26, also led the NBA in steals last season and considers himself one of the league's best 3-and-D players after making 37.5 percent of his career 3-pointers. I showed MSG fans why. .
The 6-foot-7 wing, who won the NBA title with the Raptors in 2019, said before the game that he believes Thibodeau's style of play suits his game.
“I think I'm a tough player. His players are tough, they play hard, they play to win. I think they do all of those things,” Anunoby said. So I think it fits perfectly.
“To start playing, to get better with my teammates and to play at MSG in front of the fans. [I’m] I'm really excited. ”
Two days after being acquired from the Raptors in a deal that shipped RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley north of the border, Anunoby received a crash course in Thibodeau's system and participated in a morning walkthrough before the game.
Coach Thibodeau's nine-man rotation includes Anunoby in place of Barrett, fellow trade pickup Precious Achiuwa (0 points in 8 minutes) as a backup center in place of Taj Gibson, and a backup point guard on a three-year contract. Three new players have joined the team, including Miles McBride. Quickley received a contract extension worth $13 million on Saturday.
“I think that's the challenge. It's really a league of change and you always face different challenges from year to year, whether it's players get injured, players get traded, free agency, the draft. '' Thibodeau said. “So how quickly can we adapt? That's the question we're looking at now.”
Wearing No. 8, Anunoby received a thunderous applause during his pregame introductions, but the crowd got even more excited when he sank his first shot as a Knick, a 3-pointer, just two minutes into the game.
Randle was responsible for most of the scoring in the first quarter, scoring 15 of the Knicks' 23 points. Including a 2-on-2 from beyond the arc.
Still, Edwards scored 15 points and Towns had nine points in the quarter, giving the Timberwolves a one-point advantage, 32-23.
Brunson scored the first points of the game on a driving bucket-and-one, then also knocked down a trey to complete a quick 12-0 spurt, with the second point coming less than three minutes after it started. They led the Knicks 35-34.
After sitting idle in the first quarter, Brunson scored 13 points by halftime and added six assists before intermission to help the Knicks end the half with a 61-49 lead.
Anunoby made two more buckets in the second, further exciting the crowd. Both had dunks off feeds from Donte DiVincenzo (15 points).
Anunoby got ahead down the field in transition and homered another one-handed one early in the third, before Brunson cut into the basket for his fourth dunk and the Knicks led by as many as 22 points.
The Knicks still led 94-78 to start the final period, but the Timberwolves went on a 10-0 run to take the lead in the fourth and get within six points with 8:59 left.
Anunoby sank his third 3-pointer to provide some breathing room, but Towns' trey cut the score to 99-95 with 6:40 remaining.
Randle sank two near-goal shots, including Brunson's 14th assist, to put the Knicks back up to nine points.
Randle made two jumpers in the final two minutes to maintain an eight-point cushion and converted a 3-point play along the baseline in the final minute.
