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ESPN senior writer Zach Lowe could not help but rave about OG Anunoby’s two-way performance in the New York Knicks‘ 97-92 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday, April 28, to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the opening round of the NBA Playoffs.
“Basketball analysis will come soon, but can you imagine playing in that game? Six guys played 40-plus minutes in *that* game. Salute. My god, what an effort, what a game,” Lowe wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“I mean, just one example — OG Anunoby plays *47 minutes*, guards Embiid the entire 4th quarter and more, fronts him to kill the clock over and over, scrounges up 16 and 14 and key offensive boards. My god,” he quickly added.
Anunoby held Sixers star Joel Embiid to 0 of 5 shooting in the fourth quarter while pumping in a double-double (16 points and 14 rebounds) with 3 blocked shots. He played all but one minute of the exhausting 48-minute Game 4 to lead all players from both teams.
“It was a good performance,” Anunoby told reporters. “But we can do better.”
Knicks’ Most Challenging Game of the Series
The Knicks got off to a slow start as they trailed by as many as 12 points in the first quarter.
Already without Julius Randle (shoulder surgery), the Knicks got further decimated with Mitchell Robinson a late scratch before tip-off with a left ankle injury. Then they lost Bojan Bogdanovic to a left ankle contusion after Sixers forward Nic Batum landed on his lower leg in a loose ball scramble.
As it those challenges were not enough for the Knicks, Isaiah Hartenstein picked up five fouls in the third quarter.
Anunoby took over from there on the defensive end, smothering Embiid while grabbing key rebounds down the stretch.
Anunoby and Josh Hart (17 rebounds, 4 points, 5 assists and 3 blocks) combined for 31 of the Knicks’ 52 rebounds.
Jalen Brunson Breaks Bernard King’s Playoff Record
While Anunoby anchored the Knicks’ defense, it was Jalen Brunson who fueled their offense with a playoff career-high 47 points.
Brunson broke Bernard Kings’ record of 46 points which stood for 40 years.
“I’ll look back when I retire,” Brunson told reporters. “Seriously, it’s great right now it helped us get a win but it’s not gonna do anything for us going forward.”
The Knicks All-Star point guard made 18 of 34 shots and added 10 assists as he became the first NBA player since Michael Jordan in 1990 to score at least 45 points on over 50% shooting and had 10 assists in a playoff road win, per Basketball Reference (h/t Tommy Beer).
Precious Minutes for Precious Achiuwa
With Robinson out, Precious Achiuwa returned to the rotation and played the whole fourth quarter.
Achiuwa answered the bell with 7 rebounds and 4 blocks, including a critical one against Embiid late in the fourth quarter. He added two assists and one free throw in 20 minutes off the bench.
“OG [Anunoby] and Precious [Achiuwa] were tremendous on [Embiid],” Hart told reporters after the gritty comeback win on the road. “You gotta give those guys credit.”
Hart revealed Anunoby wanted that Embiid matchup and it showed why.
“He did a good job on him and then when we switched, Precious got on him and did a great job,” Hart said.
Achiuwa turned from just a throw-in to the Anunoby trade to a key depth piece for the Knicks who are on the cusp of advancing to the conference semifinal for the second straight postseason.
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