Knicks' OG Anunoby erupts for 20 points in fourth quarter to topple Bucks
The Knicks' OG Anunoby drives to the basket during the first half of an NBA game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday in Milwaukee. Credit: AP/Aaron Gash
MILWAUKEE — While a lot can change in the final weeks of the NBA season, it has begun to look as if the Knicks and Milwaukee Bucks are likely to meet in the first round of the playoffs. But what was on display at Fiserv Forum on Friday night might provide little hint of what is to come then.
The Knicks were down to their fourth and fifth options at point guard. Milwaukee was missing Damian Lilliard and Bobby Portis. But it was another step forward for the Knicks, who completed a season sweep of the Bucks with a 116-107 win.
The third-seeded Knicks (46-27) hold a three-game lead over the fourth-seeded Pacers with nine games to play, and the Bucks dropped behind Detroit into the sixth spot. The Bucks certainly hope to have their key pieces back in place alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo when the playoffs start, and the Knicks will update Jalen Brunson’s status in the coming days, with the expectation that he, Deuce McBride and Cam Payne will be back soon.
The takeaway from this one was that the Knicks survived without their three point guards, getting solid play from the four remaining starters and enough of a contribution from a pair of little-used backups to give them their first win over a team with a winning record since the loss of Brunson on March 6 (they’re 6-5 without him).
Delon Wright, who had played only 36 minutes for the Knicks since coming from the Bucks in a trade deadline deal for Jericho Sims, got the start and scored 10 of his 12 points in the first quarter, providing a defensive spark and hustle on both ends.
He jumped past rookie Tyler Kolek in the pecking order after Kolek picked up minutes in recent games as the injuries mounted. And while the two of them might not come close to combining to provide what Brunson does, they got the job done.
“I was going back and forth on it and I was comfortable with both,” Tom Thibodeau said of the decision to start Wright. “A lot of it was based on, I wasn’t quite sure who they were gonna start. Their size was a factor in it. But I was comfortable. And then you read the game like ‘what do you need? What do you need more of?’ Both guys are really good players, they have different strengths, so you can adjust as the game goes.”
“We’re in the NBA. We always want to play,” Wright said. “It’s unfortunate some guys had to go down for us to get our opportunity, but that’s the NBA, things happen. Just gotta be ready. In my short time of being here, I told Tyler that anything can happen, this is the NBA. One minute you’re not playing at all, you don’t think you’re ever going to play, and then you’re thrown into the fire. It’s easier said than done, but the coaches have been doing a good job of keeping us ready.”
Landry Shamet finished with 13 points and Mitchell Robinson contributed all 10 of his rebounds in an active first half. Kolek had five points and five assists in 17:20 in his return to Fiserv Forum, where he starred for Marquette.
But it was the starters who did much of the work. Anunoby scored 20 of his 31 points in a 35-point fourth quarter. Mikal Bridges scored 15 of his 26 points in a 35-point second quarter. Josh Hart had 13 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists and Karl-Anthony Towns contributed 14 points and 10 rebounds.
The Knicks saw a 17-point first-half lead cut to two midway through the third quarter, but they pushed the lead back to 81-73 entering the fourth quarter before Anunoby took over. A steal and a pair of free throws followed by a three-pointer and a dunk off a pretty feed from Kolek started the run, and the lead grew to 19 in the fourth.
“It was a good, hard-fought game,” Thibodeau said. “I thought we had a number of guys step up and play well. I thought our defensive activity was big, forcing turnovers, getting into the open floor and then hitting the offensive boards hard.
“I thought we had good bench play. I thought Landry hit some timely shots, I thought Tyler came in and made some really good plays, I thought Delon gave us some really good minutes, and then you can’t say enough about what OG, Mikal and Josh did. They just fought throughout the game.
“Karl got in some early foul trouble. I thought Mitch’s activity today was huge. It’s a good, solid team win.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
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