OG Anunoby passed his first test back with flying colors.
The Knicks’ forward, appearing in his first game since Jan. 27 after undergoing elbow surgery, dropped 14 points with four rebounds and two assists while providing his patented lockdown defense in New York’s 106-79 beatdown of the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night.
“Everything felt good. I was excited to be back out there,” Anunoby said. “It’s been a while. I missed playing here. I missed the fans, my teammates.”
The 26-year-old was acquired in late December from the Toronto Raptors and immediately provided the 3-and-D option that head coach Tom Thibodeau so sorely needed. He was the sparkplug of a run that saw the Knicks go 12-2 at the start of January before he and All-Star forward Julius Randle went down with injuries.
Randle is still on the mend having dislocated his shoulder, but without Anunoby, the Knicks went just 8-10, including an NBA season-low 73-point performance on Sunday to those very same 76ers. They looked like a completely different team with Anunoby back in the fold.
“OG gave us a great lift for a first time back after a layoff,” Thibodeau said. “The energy, just the effort plays, the movement, the shooting. It added a lot to the team.”
That was just the first hurdle for Anunoby’s return back to the court. He admitted that his conditioning was not where it needed to be yet.
“I’m sure it’ll come back the next game,” he said. “It’ll come back fast.”
The most important thing for the Knicks, though, is that he feels as good as he has in a while thanks to the surgery to correct the elbow. A 100% Anunoby for the stretch run and the postseason will be imperative in putting together a deep run into late spring. New York currently holds the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference by a one-game margin over the Orlando Magic and is three games behind the third-place Cleveland Cavaliers.
“It’s a lot better than what it was during the month of January,” Anunoby said. “I’m happy. It should get better and better.”
