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NEW YORK – Jalen Brunson's return was sure to draw a crowd at Madison Square Garden. The All-Star Starter missed 15 games but was back in the New York Knicks' lineup Sunday night to play against the Phoenix Suns.
Kevin Durant missing the game set the stage for Brunson and Devin Booker to reignite their duels from the Suns-Mavericks days. OG Anunoby had other plans.
The versatile forward started out strong with a nine-point first quarter. He led the Knicks in scoring in the frame and was bested only by Devin Booker, who had 11 for the Suns. The second quarter was quiet for Anunoby, who played seven of the 12 minutes but only took one shot – a three-pointer – that he missed.
Then the proverbial switch flipped at halftime.
Anunoby didn't miss a shot in the third quarter. He contributed 19 points and a rebound in nine minutes. He took seven shots, five of them three-pointers, and made each one.
Knicks Head Coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters after the game that Anunoby's three-point explosion was the result of the team's ball movement.
“When the ball moves, the game becomes easy,” Thibodeau remarked. “But you have to have a balance, you have to understand how important it is to get easy baskets, and if you're getting easy baskets off the defense, that helps a lot.”
The coach explained how every Knick player can benefit from ‘trusting the pass,' telling reporters that it all comes down to his signature adage of letting the defense tell you what to do on offense.
“If you're in the half-court,” Thibodeau added, “if you're executing and you're playing for each other…if they're trapping somebody, you can play off that.”
OG Anunoby helps Knicks shine brighter than Suns
The Knicks' biggest lead was 19, one they held with 11:51 left in the fourth quarter. But it wasn't smooth sailing to the final buzzer from there.
Soon after, the Suns ripped off a 17-4 run and eventually pulled within six. Halfway through the fourth quarter, Devin Booker – who scored 34 points in the first three quarters – had yet to score in the final frame.
He was then fouled on two jumpshots, one of them a three-pointer, and brought Phoenix within five points with three minutes remaining. But Booker only scored once more after that. He tallied 40 points for the evening, but the 13-4 Knick run in the game's final three minutes sealed it.
The Knicks will stay in town and get set to face the Boston Celtics on Tuesday. They were at full-strength for tonight's game and hope it stays that way through the postseason. But Anunoby doesn't seem to have cooled down from his offensive hot streak in Brunson's absence.
Thibodeau laid out the team's formula for success when at full strength simply.
“We have a number of guys that are good attacking downhill, so we play off that,” Thibodeau shared postgame. “And then you have the responsibility of making deep paint decisions, so when you get there, if you have a good angle to the basket, go. If the second defender's there, spray. And that's why we say just read the game and everyone play for each other. And when that happens, good things come from it.”
