It was fitting that it was OG Anunoby’s reverse dunk that put the icing on the cake.
On opening night, the Knicks’ quietest player made the loudest impact.
That dunk — with 34.7 seconds left — gave the Knicks a 10-point lead that all but sealed their 119-111 win over the Cavaliers at Madison Square Garden. Anunoby scored the Knicks’ last four points.
Those four points meant he surpassed Jalen Brunson on the night, finishing with a team-high 24 points on 9-for-17 shooting from the field and 4-for-9 shooting from 3-point range.
But his impact went far beyond his offensive output.
Before the season, he declared his long-standing intentions to win Defensive Player of the Year and be named to the All-Defensive First Team.
He has felt overlooked with both in the past. He began the season backing up his words.
“OG was a monster,” coach Mike Brown said. “He was our defensive player of the game. I think he had six or seven deflections. He guarded a lot of different people, so he saw a lot of different types of players tonight. He did a heck of a job.”
“Playing with OG and knowing [he’s guarding the] ball-side corner, that he might take the ball from somebody, it’s crazy,” Mikal Bridges said. “He has that talent.”
Anunoby also dominated the glass, recording 14 rebounds. It matched a career high.
After being told Brown called him a “monster,” he had a predictably subdued response.
“I just try to play hard,” Anunoby said. “Do everything to help the team win.”
Brown’s offensive system is designed to ease the burden on Brunson and help get the Knicks’ periphery scorers involved. When Brunson missed time last year, Anunoby often carried the scoring load. But when Brunson was healthy, Anunoby at times got frozen out.
Wednesday was a promising sign of his sustainable involvement on the offensive end.
“The game will tell you what to do,” Anunoby said. “Each game will be different, but as we get more and more comfortable, it’ll get better and better.”
