The Knicks had everyone back on deck to at least start Game 7 against the Pacers, but prized wing OG Anunoby didn’t even last the first five minutes of the Knicks’ season-ending loss.
Anunoby tested out his injured hamstring in Game 2 of this series and was named to the starting lineup along with Josh Hart, but he did not play for more than the final three quarters of the Knicks’ 130-109 loss. could not play.
“It’s disappointing because we lost,” Anunoby said after the game. “I was just trying, I couldn’t sprint or jump, but I just tried my best.
“I just wanted to play. I wanted to at least help my teammates. We worked so hard and I wanted to at least get out there. … I just couldn’t move anymore.”
Anunoby received thunderous applause when he was introduced as a starter, hitting a 3-pointer and a long 2-pointer in the first 2:28 of the game.
Anunoby was replaced by Miles McBride with 7:19 left in the first quarter and did not play the rest of the game, although he was seen riding a stationary bike near the Knicks’ bench.
McBride also started in his place and started the third quarter.
“I looked at his moves and didn’t think it was worth it,” Tom Thibodeau said. I didn’t understand what it meant.
“I didn’t think it was worth the risk. I didn’t want to take the chance. I love OG. I talked to the doctors, but I didn’t know what was going to happen until he was released from the hospital. He knew what he had. You’ve given us everything you have, and that’s all you can ask for.”
Anunoby also missed 32 regular-season games with an elbow injury that required surgery, but the Knicks have had him in the lineup and are 26-6 (including playoffs) since being acquired from the Raptors in late December. left.
Anunoby, 26, was sitting next to team president Leon Rose during pregame warmups, and he will be one of the key decisions the front office will have to make this summer.
Anunoby can become an unrestricted free agent if he declines his option for the 2024-25 season, worth $19.9 million, by the June 24 deadline.
“I didn’t think anything about it,” Anunoby said. “I wasn’t thinking anything because the game had just finished.”
