Jalen Brunson is the reigning NBA Clutch Player of the Year and the Knicks are closing in offensively over the last stretch of games, a big reason why they’ve won so many games in crunch time lately.
But OG Anunoby is their closer defensively.
He was coach Mike Brown’s defensive player during the Knicks’ 130-125 victory over the Pelicans Monday night in New Orleans.
It was Anunoby’s sixth time receiving the recognition – the most on the team, despite Anunoby missing 10 games this season.
He spent the vast majority of the game defensively with Zion Williamson.
Although Williamson went off for 32 points, Anunoby largely gained the upper hand in the fourth quarter, as the Knicks outscored the Pelicans by 12 points and turned a potential loss into a win.
Trailing by three with 9:27 left in the game, Anunoby stole the ball from Williamson, keeping it a one-possession game.
According to NBA.com tracking stats, only 12 of Williamson’s 32 points came because Anunoby defended him.
Anunoby also forced two turnovers on Williamson.
“He’s a great player, one of the toughest covers in the league, downhill,” Anunoby said. “He’s a really incredible player, so it was really cool. Just taking on the challenge, being more physical.” [in the fourth quarter].”
With the game tied with 7:50 to go, Anunoby anticipated a pass from Jeremiah Fears and maneuvered around Derik Queen to steal the ball and give the Knicks an extra possession, which turned into a Karl-Anthony Towns 3-pointer to give them a three-point lead.
In total, he finished with 23 points, 11 rebounds, three steals and a block.
He was a team-best plus-16.
And it was his driving dunk with 1:48 to go, with the Knicks trailing by one, that restored a one-point lead that the Knicks never relinquished.
Tuesday marked the two-year anniversary of the trade that brought Anunoby to the Knicks.
If Brunson is Captain Clutch, it’s become clear that Anunoby is his partner in crime.
“Our defensive player of the game, just put his footprint on both sides, another All-Star is OG Anunoby,” Brown said. “I don’t know who can guard OG on a closeout. If you close him down, it’s a wrap if he wants it to be a wrap. You can be big, you can be small. You gotta get all the way to his body because he’s going to knock down the three. If you don’t get back to his body, he’s so fast and so strong that he goes right through your inner thigh. Offensively, he was huge for us. Offensively, he was huge, huge on the inside. But just as important, he was our defensive player of the game.”
Brown campaigns for Anunoby nightly to earn his first All-Star appearance.
His dignity depends on what a person values.
His overall offensive numbers don’t scream All-Star, but rather represent a role player: he’s averaging 15.5 points and 2.0 assists per game.
His efficiency has dipped a bit lately, though he’s still shooting 36.4 percent from three-point range.
But his overall impact is undeniable.
With Anunoby on the court, the Knicks are giving up 111.3 points per 100 possessions — that’s 8.6 points fewer than when Anunoby is off the court, according to Cleaning the Glass.
Overall, the Knicks have outscored their opponents by 12.7 points per 100 possessions with Anunoby on the court — 10.6 points better than when he’s off the court.
That puts him in the 93rd percentile in the NBA.
For context, the Knicks have outscored opponents by 7.2 points per 100 possessions with Brunson on the floor, 9.4 points with Karl-Anthony Towns on the floor and 8.7 points with Mikal Bridges on the floor.
The initial results for All-Star voting have Anunoby ranked 13th in the East in fan voting.
The top five – regardless of position – winning votes among fans, media and players in each conference are starters, while seven reserves are picked by coaches.
Those 24 players are divided into three teams.
For the second year in a row, there will be three teams of eight players – two American teams and one international team – for a round-robin tournament.
If the selection does not neatly result in 16 American players and eight international players, commissioner Adam Silver will select additional players to help both groups.
That could benefit Anunoby, who was born in England and played for the World Team in the 2019 Rising Stars Challenge.
“When fans watch the game, look past the box score and notice the little things,” Anunoby said recently about why he should be an All-Star. “And then, like the two-way effects.”
That two-way impact puts Anunoby in elite territory.
Will he finally be recognized as such?
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