NEW ORLEANS — The spotlight Thursday night in Minnesota deservedly was focused on Karl-Anthony Towns, who made his return to the city where he’d been a fixture, and his performance lived up to the attention.
But Towns might not have had a chance to grab the spotlight if the Knicks hadn’t handled Julius Randle. And that job fell, as usual, to OG Anunoby.
Randle started off red-hot, scoring 15 first-quarter points with Precious Achiuwa getting the first turn on him. But with Randle fired up, Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau made the switch to Anunoby, and the fire was extinguished.
Against Achiuwa, Randle was 5-for-7 for 12 points with two quick assists. When Anunoby took over? Randle was 1-for-6 with two turnovers and scored only four points — two of them from the free-throw line.
“I know OG puts a lot of guys in jail,” Josh Hart said after the Knicks’ morning shootaround Saturday at Smoothie King Center. “He’s someone we’re good with putting him on the island with whoever, big or small, and he’s going to change shots.
“I don’t understand how he does half of it. Sometimes when he guards like [Philadelphia’s] Tyrese Maxey and he’s able to influence shots and stay in front of him knowing Tyrese is fast as hell and OG’s not. I have to say what it is. Then you put him on guys like Julius, who is a big, physical guy, plays in the post, and he’s able to hold his own.
“So he’s a monster to a defense all by himself and he should be a first-team or second-team all-defense for sure. We’re comfortable with that matchup against him and anybody.”
Maybe the most surprising thing about Anunoby is that he has earned only one All-Defensive second-team honor, that coming in the 2022-23 season with the Toronto Raptors.
Some of it can be attributed to injuries that have limited his appearances in the past. When he was dealt to the Knicks in a midseason trade, an injured Anunoby missed 31 of the 52 games. He also was hurt again in the postseason.
Part of it might be his personality. He’s laugh-out-loud funny to his teammates, but often it’s because of his deadpan delivery and a word count as slight as the shooting percentage of the players he guards.
“Just try to make it as difficult as possible for him,” Anunoby said about guarding opponents. “Make him uncomfortable, force him into tough shots.”
The Knicks rewarded him with the richest contract in franchise history, signing him back to a five-year, $212 million deal.
“OG’s been special all year,” Towns said. “We talk about it day in and day out. He’s so special. He’s one of the best two-way players in the NBA. What he provides our team, he’s worth every dollar.”
“Yeah, and that’s the beauty of OG,” Thibodeau said. “Sometimes you can look at the boxscore, you don’t realize the impact that he has on the game. It’s not an easy job. A guy like Julius and a guy like Anthony Edwards, you’ve got to battle them on every possession, and sometimes you can guard them great and they still can make. You commit and you’ve got to keep going, a second, third and fourth effort. But OG, he’s as good as it gets defensively.”
It has taken some time, but the Knicks have begun to see the pairing of Anunoby and Mikal Bridges as wing stoppers take hold. Playing beside him, even Bridges has found himself watching at times like a fan.
“It’s just who he is. Ever since I’ve known OG, he’s just been a menace,” Bridges said. “I think the steal he had on Julius, when Julius was trying to iso me, I was like, ‘Ohh.’ It took me by surprise. So him just staying locked in and doing all the little things. We appreciate it and we need it.”
Notes & quotes: Hart was back with the Knicks on Saturday, flying in late Friday after missing Thursday’s game for personal reasons . . . The Pelicans, riddled by injuries this season, were without Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and Jose Alvarado . . . Pacome Dadiet and Ariel Hukporti were with the Knicks’ G League squad Saturday for the G League Showcase in Orlando.
