It took OG's special touch to slow down Victor Wembaneyama.
With about 6 1/2 minutes left and the Knicks trailing by five points, Tom Thibodeau ignored the size difference and stuck his best defender, OG Anunoby, on a red-hot Wembaneyama.
As a result, Wenbanyama hit three shots from that moment on and was scoreless, giving the Knicks a thrilling come-from-behind victory at 117-114.
“So, yeah, that's the OG. That's who he is,” said Mikal Bridges, who finished with 41 points and held on for 42 points, finishing just two points shy of Wilt Chamberlain's Christmas debut record. I broke it up to “We needed him to protect us at the end. He did a great job. I wish he would have come on a little earlier, but he's just an OG guy.
“He can guard any size, any player, from a point guard to the tallest player in the NBA.”
Tom Thibodeau finally replaced Anunoby after starting center Karl-Anthony Towns was ejected for his fifth foul.
The 7-foot-3 Wembangyama didn't even attempt to post up the 6-7 Anunoby.
Instead, Wenby made two 3-pointers against Anunoby and a pull-up midrange shot against Precious Achiuwa after a switch.
“I told you, there's only one man like him.” [Anunoby]. And it’s unique,” Thibodeau said. “You can play him at point guard, you can play him at center. And that's his gift. He has great expectations. He has great will to get it done. He's got great feet. He's got quickness and anticipation and he's got length. And it's hard to throw the ball over him, and if you mess with it, he takes it away from you. That's a big advantage. It's very unique.”
Wenby was successful for most of the matinee against Towns, who was minus-13 points in 30 minutes.
Thibodeau said replacing Anunoby and Wenbanyama was always a possibility, and Towns' foul trouble appeared to be the trigger.
The other option was Mr. Achiuwa. Although he was also in the chamber, Thibodeau chose the all-defense candidate.
“The match will decide.” [what you do]. you know you have it [in your back pocket]. It’s part of your job,” the coach said. “What's going on in the game? Is someone in terrible trouble? Who's running it? Why not change the matchup and make him look different? You go into the game knowing what the possibilities are. You're preparing to play against them and you're looking at what he's doing against other teams, so you're like, 'No. We're saying, “Okay, if this happens, we need to know what the next step is.'' ”
