New York Knicks All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson commended his teammate, OG Anunoby, for his toughness after surviving a re-injury scare during their 105-93 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday, March 14, on the road.
“I think if he's hurt, he wouldn't play,” Brunson told reporters after their second straight win with Anunoby back in the lineup. “I believe many of us have mindsets like that.”
Anunoby briefly left the game in the final 3 1/2 minutes of the second quarter after his steal on Portland’s big man Deandre Ayton triggered soreness in his surgically repaired right elbow.
The Knicks’ defensive stalwart returned in the second half and ended up playing 36 minutes.
“He went back out there,” Brunson told reporters. “So, that's a telling sign. So he’s tough and obviously, we want the best for everybody.
We want everyone to be okay first and foremost. But if you go back out there, that means you’re good. So things are gonna happen. You gotta get banged up. We gotta be up everyone’s back and just make sure we all take care of each other first.”
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— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) March 15, 2024
Brunson took care of the Knicks offense with 45 points, his 10th 40-point game in his career, while Anunoby anchored the team’s defense.
The Knicks point guard finished with plus-17, tied with center Isaiah Hartenstein for the team’s highest plus-minus. Anunoby was plus-11.
OG Anunoby knew there was a risk
According to Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau, they expected that scary scene in the second quarter when Anunoby returned to the lineup after an 18-game absence.
“There’s gonna be some times where there’s gonna be soreness,” Thibodeau told reporters, per New York Basketball on X, formerly Twitter. “He played through it.
He knew stuff like that’s gonna happen. In general, like you do with all your players, there’s gonna be bumps and bruises in every game and then we check after the game. Then we check in the morning.”
Anunoby, who finished with 12 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals, plans to suit up in their next road game at Sacramento on Saturday, March 16.
“That’s the plan,” Anunoby told reporters, per New York Post’s Stefan Bondy. ” I wasn’t thinking about not playing.”
Knicks Sign 2 Players to 10-Day Deals
The Knicks picked up Mamadi Diakite while they brought back Daquan Jeffries. Both players signed 10-day contracts, the team announced on Thursday, March 14.
Fred Katz of The Athletic was the first to report on Diakite’s signing.
Diakite and Jeffries did not play at the start of the Knicks’ West Coast trip. And it will likely stay that way unless injuries decimate their roster again.
Diakite, 27, went undrafted in 2020 but he was able to land a two-way contract, which was later converted into a multi-year deal with the Milwaukee Bucks. He won a championship with the Bucks in 2021 as a reserve.
Both Diakite and Jeffries played for the Westchester Knicks in the G League this season.
Diakita has appeared in 7 games with Westchester, averaging 12.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.4 blocks.
However, Jeffries scored an average of 22.8 points, grabbed 5.8 rebounds, made 2.5 assists, and blocked 1.0 shot in 13 games, with 11 starting appearances at Westchester.
Jeffries also played in 13 games for the Knicks, totaling 11 points in 34 minutes.
