His offensive prowess easily stood out on the box score. But what was more impressive to the crowd at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night was OG Anunoby’s late-game defense.
The ninth-year forward had the hard job of locking down a healthy and active Zion Williamson.
He shared the load with Karl-Anthony Towns, but Anunoby was the one who delivered in crunch time as the Knicks beat the Pelicans 121-116 for their seventh straight victory.
In the fourth quarter, as the Knicks led 100-94 with nine minutes to play, Williamson, the 2019 No. 1 overall pick, backed Anunoby into the paint and attempted to spin and shoot over him.
The Knicks’ star defender denied him, jumping up and swatting the ball to the baseline.
Williamson clapped his hands twice at the missed opportunity as Knicks fans roared for the rejection.
It all came down to “anticipating,” Anunoby said after the win.
Before that, the 28-year-old also grabbed a steal off the Pelicans star as he lost control of the ball. On the other end, former Pelican Jose Alvarado found Mohamed Diawara to convert a jump shot.
Anunoby finished the night with three steals and one block.
“Our defensive player of the game was OG,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “He guarded a lot of different players throughout the game, but to close the game the way he did against Zion, he’s a monster. He’s a handful for anybody but for OG to be able to do the job that he did on him down the stretch was huge.”
The last time the Knicks faced Williamson, he had his way with them with 32 points on Dec. 29.
On Tuesday, the Knicks held him to 22 points on 8-of-10 from the field, but it wasn’t the same dominant feeling as before.
“I was just trying to make it difficult for him,” Anunoby said. “Trying to make the catches difficult, push them out further and then just play one-on-one defense. I have great teammates who help me out, communicating what’s behind me. Just executing.”
Anunoby also didn’t miss a beat offensively, scoring 21 points and helping the Knicks get one step closer to the East’s No. 2 playoff slot. He shot 7-for-16 from the field and tallied four rebounds and four assists.
He also owned a plus-17 rating.
“We have great defensive pieces all over the floor, so we’ve just been executing, communicating better and it’s been showing on the court,” Anunoby said.
