Scenes from a triumphant Anunoby return

On Sunday, the Philadelphia 76ers (36-28) won a 79-73 wrestling match at Madison Square Garden. In stark contrast to that trash heap, the New York Knicks (37-27) easily took an early lead in tonight’s rematch. Buoyed by a strong return from OG Anunoby, consistent leadership from Jalen Brunson, and excellent shooting, they entered intermission up 59-44. In the third quarter, Philly almost cut the lead to single-digits, but New York rebounded and then some. After taking a 30+ lead in the fourth, New York redeemed the sins of Sunday with a 106-79 win.

That’s right. New York held Philly to 79 points in two straight games.

Josh Hart recorded his fourth triple-double of the season (20 points, 19 rebounds, 10 assists), Jalen Brunson scored 20 points and nine assists, DiVincenzo made four of nine three-pointers, and Precious Achiuwa contributed 13 points and eight rebounds from the bench. The game ball goes to Anunoby, though. He had missed 18 games due to elbow surgery but showed little signs of rust tonight. His statline won’t blow you over—14 points, four rebounds, two assists, and a steal, hitting 6-of-11 from the floor. But he set the pace for New York’s defense and his shooting threat opened the floor for the starters to have the best looks they’d seen in a while. OG is back, and so are the Knicks.

First Half

On Sunday, the Knicks bent the rims with their barrage of bricks. Tonight, they hit seven of their first ten for a 17-7 lead midway through the qaurter. OG Anunoby easily swished his first two jumpers. In the previous matchup, neither team could muster more than 15-first quarter points. Tonight, New York won the period, 26-14.

Here OG’s famous defense results in an easy Jalen Brunson three.

Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey had missed four games while in concussion protocol. Like Anunoby, he suited up again and made his presence known early. Of Philly’s 14-first quarter points, Maxey scored 10 of them.

The smooth shooting continued in the second quarter, with Deuce McBride and Alec Burks getting in on the action and goosing the lead to 15.

Then the Sixers, led by Buddy Hield and Kelly Oubre, Jr. mounted an 8-0 run. With the lead slashed to seven, Tom Thibodeau needed a timeout. Whatever the coach said, it motivated this, which started a New York 11-3 run.

At intermission, the Knicks were up 59-44. Brunson led all scorers with 15 points and made five of his nine field goal attempts. New York had shot 55% from the floor and 10-of-23 from deep, won the rebounds 24-13, beat Philly in the paint 24-16, and had 20 assists. The visitors had shot 42% FG and 32% 3P.

Second Half

Tobias Harris is Philly’s third-leading scorer but didn’t get on the board until the third quarter, which the Sixers started on a 10-2 run. New York missed six straight shots, eeriely reminiscent of Sunday’s slopfest. With the lead on the verge of slipping to singe-digits, the Knicks responded with six unanswered to allay our fears.

Hey, who’s the toughest point guard in the league?

Back on the right track, the Knicks gassed their lead up to 28 points while the visitors went over three minutes without a bucket. Josh Hart had a monster quarter on his way to his fourth triple-double of the season.

The Knicks defense is a thing to behold with Anunoby and Hart as its lynchpins, and OG provides a scoring threat that opens up the floor for Brunson and Donte DiVincenzo. The latter would finish the night with 16 points on 4-of-9 shooting from deep.

New York entered the fourth ahead 87-61, and the game dragged a bit. Around the eight-minute mark, down 91-66, Philly’s Nick Nurse subbed out Buddy Hield (seven points, 1-of-6 from deep) for Jeff Dowtin, Jr. Brunson checked out a minute later, finishing with 20 points, nine assists, and four rebounds on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor.

Then Hart took his 20 points, 19 boards, and 10 assists and made his exit. He heard it from the fans, and they heard it back from him.

Up Next

The Knicks travel to Portland to face the Trail Blazers on Thursday and start four-game swing out west. Safe travels, Knickerbockers.

Box Score