As one center was ruled out with a mysterious ailment and another was on the bench with a minutes restriction, Precious Achiuwa was needed to make the biggest plays in the biggest moments of Sunday’s 120-119 OT win over the Bulls.
Mitchell Robinson, only 2 ¹/₂ weeks removed from returning after a 50-game ankle-surgery layoff, was ruled out of the second half because “they just told me he was unavailable,” according to Tom Thibodeau.
Isaiah Hartenstein, who has been managing his sore Achilles down the stretch of the season, hit 31 minutes in regulation — his second-highest total since Feb. 6 — and was subbed out.
As a result, Achiuwa, who has been the forgotten man in the rotation since Robinson’s return, played all but two seconds of the overtime.
He scored four points — including a put-back dunk with one minute left for a four-point lead — and stopped DeMar DeRozan on Chicago’s final possession.
DeRozan’s potential game-winner — a midrange shot over Achiuwa’s outstretched arm — bounced off the rim with about three seconds left.
It ended the Knicks’ season with a win, the No. 2 seed in the East, and a 50-32 record.
“He’s looking to go to the free throw line, looking for every ticky-tack touch, looking for him to call a foul,” Achiuwa said. “So it was just about making him take a tough shot, a contested 2, even if that’s his go-to move.
“Trying to make that as tough as possible.”
Achiuwa was switched onto DeRozan after Bulls center Nikola Vucevic set a screen on primary defender OG Anunoby.
Achiuwa was left on an island to guard Chicago’s best scorer and held it down.
“[Achiuwa in OT] was huge, it was huge,” Tom Thibodeau said. “Vucevic is a load to deal with. And when teams go small, what Precious gives you is the ability to switch. So I think that’s important for us as well.”
Achiuwa, a key part of the lineup in February and early March, had been more of an afterthought lately and considered on the fringe of the playoff rotation.
But that’s also dependent on Robinson’s availability.
Two days after logging 25 minutes — his highest total since ankle surgery — Robinson managed a scoreless seven before sitting the entire second half.
“Probably precautionary. So we’ll see,” Thibodeau said. “It was quick during the game. He just said he was unavailable in the second half. So you go from there.”
Robinson has acknowledged struggles with his conditioning and rhythm since coming back from ankle surgery.
He sat out a game on March 31 because of a sore ankle.
If the Knicks face the Sixers in the first round, they’ll have a load to deal with at center in reigning MVP Joel Embiid.
As a member of the Raptors, Achiuwa matched up with Embiid in the opening round of the 2022 playoffs — which Philadelphia won in six games.
The Knicks face the winner of Wednesday’s play-in game between the No. 7 Sixers and No. 8 Heat in Game 1 on Saturday.
“He’s a helluva player,” Achiuwa said about Embiid.