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The New York Knicks bested the Denver Nuggets on the road Monday night, 145-118. Denver could not keep up with New York's offensive onslaught. OG Anunoby was the best Knicks player on Monday. He tallied 40 points, a career-high, along with five rebounds and four assists.
He made 16 out of his 23 shot attempts. 69.6%. He made five of the seven shot attempts that were 3-pointers. 71.4%. He was perfect on his three free throws.
The new-look, everybody-eats Knicks offense has produced three 40-point performances throughout the team's first 17 games. Karl-Anthony Towns had the first two. But what led to OG Anunoby having the third against the Nuggets?
The 27-year-old wing did not do anything in his 40-point performance against the Nuggets that he isn't doing on practically a nightly basis for the Knicks.
Let's take a look at six of Anunoby's baskets from Monday night. Seeing how he scored them can give context important to understanding how repeatable the performance could be.
OG Anunoby's simple game was too much for the Denver Nuggets
My friend Prez, draft analyst for The Strickland, perfectly described Tyler Kolek's ability to break down defenders while at Marquette. No attempt to paraphrase would do his words justice.
“He got a small bag, but it's like a 10,000 dollar Hermes bag,” the prospect guru said of Kolek's finishes at the rim. This is basketball gold, folks. And it's also a perfect way to describe how Anunoby methodically picked apart the Nuggets' defense on Monday.
Anunoby isn't known for highlight plays in which he displays his ability to Shammgod or records an assist without ever looking at the shooter. But he is a 6'7″, 240 lb forward with a build that enables him to protect the rim defensively. And the spacing the Knicks' lineups can offer him is fantastic.
His first basket of the game against Denver came early. As soon as his heels touch the ground after the catch, he begins to pump fake. And as soon as Michael Porter Jr. bites on the fake, Anunoby begins driving to the rim.
Once he had Porter Jr. completely turned around to cut off his path to the basket, he used a punch dribble. The results are a pair of perfectly set feet, a yard of space between himself and Porter Jr., and a wide-open mid-range jumper.
Sweet.
Anunoby's next score required much less work from him. Jalen Brunson hands the ball off to him and sets an off-ball screen for Karl-Anthony Towns. With Jokic tied up with Brunson, Towns has a tight window during which he can set an off-ball screen on Christian Braun.
That second screen frees up Anunoby for an above-the-break 3-pointer. He's been excellent at those this season with his 42.9% conversion rate on ATB 3-pointers being the 12th-highest among players that have taken 60 or more thus far.
Here's an example of Anunoby getting thrown a ticking time bomb at the end of the shot clock and utilizing his simple, but luxury, bag to wind up scoring two points. He calls for the ball with just over four seconds remaining and catches it with 3.6 to go. After getting Peyton Watson to overcommit to his pump fake, Anunoby drives inside on him and pulls up just in time. Swish.
These have all been incredibly simple baskets. Anunoby knows his shooting ability results in hard closeouts. And he knows how to leverage that, along with his strength, into strong, physical, straight-line drives to the basket. Anything is possible from there, really.
For OG Anunoby, blocking Nikola Jokic, recovering the rebound, and scoring on the other end of the court within four seconds is just another day at the office.
Speaking of Jokic, this basket was honestly rude of Anunoby. Brunson swings it his way but he doesn't love what he sees, so he gives it right back. Jokic diverts his attention to Brunson, so Anunoby starts creeping toward the corner. And Brunson sees it, so he gives him the ball right back. Before actually catching the pass, Anunoby angled his body in preparation to attack the basket as quickly as possible.
Once he was near the rim, only Porter Jr. stood in the way of him and two points. So his strength came into play once again. And he finished through Porter Jr. while drawing a foul, turning the attempt to prevent two points into a third point.
Let's watch one more. Hart and Towns both screen for Brunson. Anunoby waits in the corner. Brunson takes the first screen but reverses the second from Towns and begins to drive. And that forces Westbrook to come over and help on the big.
As a result, the Knicks forward was staring down a clean lane to the basket approximately 19 feet in length. So he waited a second. And then he took it in rhythm with Brunson's drive. As soon as Brunson arrived at the rim, Anunoby did too. Slam dunk.
None of these baskets were remote candidates for being the best NBA play of the day. They were all incredibly simple. An abundance of spacing, a ton of strength, and a keen understanding of what to do with both led to most of the scores. And an ability to shoot the ball led to the rest.
OG Anunoby can continue to impact games like an NBA All-Star for the Knicks. Even on the offensive side of the floor. He's also made it clear that he'd like some credit for more than just his defense. If he keeps reading the floor like this and “listening” to defenses when they “tell” him what to do out there, he might just get it.
