The Real OG

The Knicks came back from 19 down thanks to their All-World defender reminding us what he's capable of.

Good morning!

I guess the Knicks just don’t play normal basketball games anymore, huh?

Game 60: Knicks 116, Heat 112 (OT)

• The starters came out looking like a group that had closed down LIV the night before, going down 23-15 before the first subs checked in.

• New York’s bench kept things tight before Miami went on their longest scoring run of the season, putting up 16 straight points to go up 19 shortly before halftime.

• The offense got it going after halftime, but it wasn’t until Mitch and Deuce checked in that the Knicks began playing some real defense.

• Starting late in the third, OG Anunoby took over on defense, and New York closed regulation on a 15-5 run as Mikal Bridges watched from the bench.

• Jalen Brunson scored or assisted on eight of the Knicks’ 11 points in overtime, and New York got it’s 40th win of the season.

Perhaps it’s appropriate that this game took place on the five-month anniversary of the KAT trade.

The second we learned that the Knicks had acquired a generationally talented offensive player who nonetheless raised questions about the ceiling of whatever team he was on because of his defensive shortcomings, the pressure was on OG Anunoby to prove that their gamble was worth it.

With the ink barely dry on the largest contract in franchise history, OG’s place as the league’s most important role player was now fully secure. In order to mount a championship-caliber defense bookended by two lesser defenders, New York’s other defenders would all have to pull their weight and then some, but none more than Anunoby.

At 6'7" and 230 pounds, there is no defender in the league with Anunoby’s ceiling. There were glimpses of that ceiling after he arrived in New York last season, but we’ve seen it far too infrequently this year, and while the Knicks’ bottom-five half-court defense certainly isn’t all on OG’s shoulder, it’s hard to imagine they’d be where they are if he was giving him what we know he’s capable of.

Well yesterday, as Hollywood was celebrating its biggest night, Anunoby went full John Wick and announced to the league that yeah, I’m thinking I’m BACK.

Zach Lowe used to refer to Kawhi Leonard as the Sharktopus because of his penchant for ensnaring unsuspecting ball-handlers the moment he smelled blood in the water.

OG is a little different. Most of the time, you actually do see him coming, but are still helpless to do anything about it. In that sense, he’s more like an alligator. Once you’re in his grasp, all the writhing you can muster won’t make a bit of difference. It’s only a matter of time before you’re at the bottom of the lake.

Like Kawhi though, Anunoby has a few tricks up his sleeve. That’s what makes him New York’s best help defender in addition to it’s best option on the ball against most opponents. Sure enough, his first block of the night was in help coverage.

While we’re doing animal comps, how about the king of the jungle:

Plays like this were on repeat after halftime as the Knicks fought back from 19 down to beat Miami in their own building (although you certainly couldn’t tell by listening to the crowd).

The comeback was, to be clear, about more than just Anunoby.

Tom Thibodeau raised some eyebrows as he sat Mikal Bridges (2-for-11 in 28 minutes) in favor of Deuce McBride (+11, 12 points on 10 shots in 30 minutes) for the majority of the second half and overtime. That decision helped tilt the game in New York’s favor as Deuce continued his strong play. As a team, the Knicks also flipped the first half script, eventually outscoring Miami 58-56 in the paint after the Heat had a 40-20 advantage at halftime. Their perimeter defense improved across the board after Miami penetrated at will early on, while their board work (46-34 rebounding margin; 11-3 on the offensive glass) helped turn that tide as well.

Oh, and that Jalen Brunson guy is pretty good too.

But if we’re going to consider this game in the larger context of New York’s big picture goals, the top takeaway has to be Anunoby.

The Heat offense isn’t anything to write home about, but nearly all of their possessions went through Tyler Herro or Bam Adebayo. Those two combined for 25 points on 16 shots in the first half as Anunoby spent the majority of that time covering other players.

In the second half and overtime though, OG toggled between Miami’s two primary threats and was a significant factor in them needing 24 shots to amass 27 points after halftime. Much like he flashed the ability to guard Tyrese Maxey on one possession and Joel Embiid the next during the playoffs, Anunoby was once again the queen of the chessboard here.

His play was a huge reason why the Knicks gave up just 43 points in the final 24 minutes after allowing 79 in the first 29, and it’s the biggest reason to hope that their original wager on pairing Towns and Brunson might just pay off after all.

Well that, and the fact that this team continues to show a level of gumption that isn’t often seen in the NBA. After starting off the season 6-7 in games that featured a “clutch” situation¹, they have won their last 10 such contests.

Yes, it helps that Jalen Brunson has been by far the best clutch player in the sport since January 14…

…but New York also has a 95.6 defensive rating across 60 clutch minutes in those 10 games. That’s sixth best in the league over that span.

So maybe, just maybe, the theory of the case holds water after all.

And the man of the hour is the biggest reason to believe.

💫 Stars of the Game 💫

⭐️ Mitchell Robinson: Honorable mentions go to Deuce and Josh Hart, but Mitch gets this one in his second game back, in large part because he was responsible for the moment that might have swung momentum in New York’s favor:

Not only did Mitch win the ensuing tip, but he got an offensive rebound on the resulting possession and kicked to OG for a 3-pointer that made it an 11-0 Knicks run. On the next possession after that, Robinson had his first putback of the season, cutting what had been a 19-point deficit down to three.

Most important stretch of the game, and Mitch had his fingerprints all over it.

⭐️ ⭐️ Jalen Brunson Give credit to Davion Mitchell for making JB work for his points, but Brunson still wound up with a team-high 31 on better than 50 percent shooting. He was also a team-high plus-12 in 42 minutes and added five more clutch buckets to his ledger². He’d have been an easy three-star winner on most nights, but yesterday he played the role of Demi Moore thanks to…

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ OG Anunoby: We can talk about the stat line of 23 points, nine boards, five dimes, three blocks and two steals, which has only been achieved by two other players in Knicks history. One is the GOAT (Ewing) and the other won an MVP (McAdoo).

We can go through the splash plays that helped turn this game on both ends of the court, perhaps none bigger than his tip-in of a Brunson missed triple with 52 seconds remaining that effectively kept the Knicks alive to complete the comeback.

We can marvel at his somehow getting more disruptive as the game went on despite a 43-minute outing just 10 days after his return from a three-week injury.

We can and should do all of those things, but the moment from this win that will live rent free in my head didn’t produce a stat and won’t make any highlight tape. It happened with just under two minutes left in OT and the Knicks clinging to a two-point lead. Anunoby was guarding Bam, who set a typically vicious (and actually legal, for once) screen to spring Tyler Herro. Hart got stonewalled, and Herro had all the space he needed for a go-ahead 3-pointer.

Or so he thought.

I wonder if Herro took that extra dribble because he saw where OG was and figured he had no chance to contest the shot from that position. Either way, his daylight vanished behind a solar eclipse in the shape of Anunoby. In the moment, I could not believe Herro wasn’t able to get a shot off. Insane, absurd recovery by Anunoby

Probably the best defensive half of any Knick this season, if not in several seasons. He was that good. Awesome to see him get the game-sealing dunk with 17 seconds left.

Final Thought

I’ll save thoughts on the Marc Stein report about New York’s deadline pursuit of Walker Kessler for tomorrow, as well as some ideas about what the front office is thinking after waiving two-way players Matt Ryan and Jacob Toppin yesterday afternoon.

For right now though, I’m just going to tip my cap to a team that has two wins for every one loss after 60 games. For a season full of imperfections, that’s pretty darn good any way you cut it.

🏀

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

1. Score within five points with five or fewer minutes remaining.

2. It should have been six, but his floater to cut Miami’s lead to 100-95 came with 5:01 remaining in the fourth,