It might have seemed that the ovation from the Madison Square Garden crowd when OG Anunoby was introduced in the starting lineup was the sign that he was back after six weeks on the sideline, but that really wasn’t it.
It wasn’t even when he hit his first shot of the game, helping the Knicks off to a quick start that they would never relinquish in a wire-to-wire blowout of the Philadelphia 76ers.
Nor was it the emphatic dunk on a pretty feed behind the back from Jalen Brunson on a fast break. If you really wanted to know the moment, it came in the third quarter. Anunoby swiped the ball on an errant pass and raced downcourt for a dunk, going from defense to offense in a complete show of skills.
That play completed a run that turned a 10-point lead into a 28-point advantage, setting off a celebration at the Garden. The Knicks coasted to a 106-79 win and were feeling a little bit closer to whole with Anunoby back.
“It felt great,” said Anunoby, who had his right arm wrapped in ice as a precaution. “It’s been a while. Missed playing here, missed the fans, missed my teammates. So it was a great feeling for sure.”
It was not a one-man show, but a show that one man can make a huge difference as Anunoby (14 points in 29 minutes) fit as seamlessly as he did when he first arrived in New York. Josh Hart posted his fourth triple-double in the last 18 games with 20 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists as his streak of nine straight games of 40-plus minutes ended with a restful 39 minutes. Brunson had 20 points and nine assists.
It marked the third straight game the Knicks held an opponent under 80 points. It was the first time since November, 2000 that the Knicks had done that It was back when Brunson’s father Rick, now a Knicks assistant coach, was playing on the team.
“Obviously a Brunson,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said of the key to it. “The thing is, 20 years ago that really was the style of play. So to be able to do it in today’s game, it’s a credit…
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