After Game 1, OG Anunoby said he had to get better in “everything.”
He wasn’t specific.
The standout wing has let his play do the talking.
He was yet again terrific Tuesday, helping the Knicks take a 3-2 series lead with a 126-97 battering of the Hawks at a raucous Garden.
He defended, he scored and he rebounded, finishing with 17 points, 10 rebounds and two steals along with a plus-19 rating in 35 strong minutes.
An argument can be made that through five games of this best-of-seven opening-round playoff series, the 6-foot-7 Anunoby has been the best Knick.
He is averaging an even 20 points, nine rebounds, 1.4 steals and shooting an absurd 54.2 percent from 3-point range. Even in the two losses, he brought it.
It’s hard to play better.
“I think he’s one of a kind. Getting to see his work ethic, the person he is, what he has just been able to do in his time as a Knick, he’s been great,” Jalen Brunson said. “I’m so happy to have him. I’m happy I don’t have to see him on that side of the ball — he just creates havoc. I think his game’s growing, and that’s what happens when you work hard.”
Over the past two games, the Knicks have held the Hawks to fewer than 100 points each time. Before that, the last time that happened to Atlanta was March 20.
Anunoby has been a big part of that, as one of the backbones to the Knicks defense.
“He’s one of the best two-way players in the NBA,” Karl-Anthony Towns said. “This series has been great for him to show the world on a big stage something that we always thought he was. When you have someone like that who is that good offensively and even better defensively, weirdly enough, it’s special.
“I believe he’s going to be First Team All-Defense, and he deserves it.”
