The New York Knicks blew out the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden, avenging a frustrating defeat to this same Joel Embiid-less team two days ago in the City of Bortherly Love with a 106-79 victory. OG Anunoby's return from six weeks on the shelf while recovering from elbow surgery was the highlight for New York, and he provided the same stellar two-way impact against Philadelphia that made him the talk of the NBA before going down with injury.
The presence of Anunoby loomed largest, shocker, on defense, where the Knicks absolutely suffocated Tyrese Maxey and company from the opening tip. The Sixers shot 37.5% overall and 24.2% from beyond the arc, racking up just 17 assists en route to a ghastly 89.8 offensive rating—the exact same season-low mark Nick Nurse's squad managed on Sunday in Philadelphia.
But New York got a win this time, with Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart—who also had another triple-double, his fourth since late January—pacing a balanced offensive effort with 20 points apiece. Donte DiVincenzo, Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa and Miles McBridge all scored at least 13 points as the Knicks shot 50% from the field, splashed 14 triples and racked up 32 assists, tied for their second-most this season.
Asked after the game about the Knicks' defense, Tom Thibodeau opted to give his players individual praise.
“I thought OG gave us a great lift. For the first time back after a layoff, the energy, the effort plays, the movement, the shooting added a lot to the team,” he said. “I thought Josh Hart was incredible. Just his defense, his rebounding, his scoring, his playmaking, everything—just all around play. Jalen was Jalen. Donte gave us good minutes. I thought Precious was really good for us as well. Isiah was protecting the rim, just doing a great job for us.”
Knicks' defensive dominance harks back to 2000
New York's win over Philadelphia marked the third-straight game it allowed 80 points or fewer. The last time the Knicks pulled that off was all the way back in November 2000, when Allan Houston, Marcus Camby, Latrell Sprewell and the rest annual contenders come spring.
First time the Knicks allowed fewer than 80 points in 3 straight games since 2000
h/t: @Stathead https://t.co/DndCGgepnO pic.twitter.com/edVY3mWvsC
— Knicks Film School (@KnickFilmSkool) March 13, 2024
The bloom began falling off New York's rose in 2000-01, Jeff Van Gundy's penultimate season with the franchise. The Knicks advanced to the Eastern Conference and NBA Finals the two preceding seasons, though, nearly riding dominant defense and rare depth to a championship.
Does that formula sound familiar? New York ranks eighth this season with a 112.4 defensive rating, but that number dips all the way down to a ridiculous 99.0 with Anunoby on the floor—over seven points per 100 possessions lower than the Minnesota Timberwolves' number with Defensive Player of the Year shoo-in Rudy Gobert manning the middle.
The league's new 65-game minimum for certain awards prevent Anunoby from being considered for All-Defense let alone DPOY, but rest assured he'd be a First Team All-Defense lock if not for his elbow injury. New York went a league-best 12-2 with Anunoby and Julius Randle in the lineup, out-classing all-comers with a +15.1 net rating from the time the former arrived in New York to when the latter suffered his shoulder injury.
What if the new-look, full-strength Knicks, with both Randle and Mitchell Robinson back in the fold, are really the biggest threat to the Boston Celtics at the top of the Eastern Conference? Cross your fingers that we'll get the chance to find out soon, as there's no guarantee Randle and Robinson get back on the floor in time to re-acclimate ahead of the playoffs.
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