Getty Tyrese Maxey dribbling against the New York Knicks
The New York Knicks have played great basketball since the team traded for OG Anunoby. While the impact that Anunoby makes is obvious, they look like a completely different team. Since he’s made his debut, they might have their two best wins of the season.
On January 1, 2024, the Knicks beat the Minnesota Timberwolves in Anunoby’s first game. Less than a week later on January 5, 2024, they beat the Philadelphia 76ers by 36 points. Despite what the box score says, they did a good job on Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid. The duo combined for 57 of the 92 76ers points as no other player outside of Kelly Oubre Jr. had more than 6 points.
After the game, Maxey spoke about what New York did to them, hinting at an early punch in the mouth that got the Knicks fired up. Maxey had the following to say, according to Sam DiGiovanni of Clutch Points.
“I just think they hit us in the mouth early,” Maxey said. “We actually, we were up early. But they hit us in the mouth and that at the end of that first, and then seemed like we were on our heels ever since then from the game. There’s a couple clips that that coach showed that they hit us first when we were on defense and we shouldn’t allow that to happen.”
Knicks Haven’t Lost With Og Anunoby in the Rotation
As Tyrese Maxey alluded to, the hot start got the Knicks going. They did what they had to do early on in the game and that led to a comfortable win. Star Jalen Brunson noted the same thing and pointed to the bench as the reason for them getting out to that hot start. The New York Post reported the following on what Brunson said after the win:
“They sparked us in the first half, really got us going,” Brunson said about the reserves. “And continued throughout the game.”
In a game where Julius Randle had 8 points, help was needed from others. However, that shows the type of game it was. When Randle doesn’t score his usual 20-plus per night, New York would often struggle. Instead, it was a team effort that put them in the position to blow out one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference.
The Knicks had 7 players in double figures, including 19 points from Quentin Grimes. Grimes has benefited greatly since the trade as he has more of a role in this current rotation.
Joel Embiid Points at Defense for Struggling
After the loss, DiGiovanni of Clutch Points reported what Joel Embiid had to say about the loss. The superstar center was frustrated with the lack of defense from the 76ers and talked about the Knicks being hot.
“We know ourselves and we know that it starts on defense,” Embiid said. “Tonight, we were not good enough. Gotta get better defensively. But then again, it’s one game. It happens. They were hot. We were not. We were not at our best and we’re gonna be fine.”
The New York Knicks offense was so good in the win that the Philadelphia 76ers simply didn’t have an answer for them.