The Timberwolves had sliced into a once 22-point deficit and were threatening to steal a game the Knicks had owned since the second quarter.
With just under five minutes remaining and Minnesota down six, OG Anunoby stared down Anthony Edwards. Anunoby followed the young T’wolves star around a Karl-Anthony Towns pick, fighting over the top. Edwards danced his way into the lane, but the quick Anunoby stuck with him. Edwards faked and pivoted, trying to create distance that he never found. Anunoby, who practically has wings for arms, clearly bothered Edwards with his length.
Wanting out, Edwards flipped a pass that Jalen Brunson intercepted, and the point guard dished in transition to Julius Randle for a running layup. The bucket did not quite end the Toronto run, but the Knicks’ lead did not fall below five points the rest of the way.
That is the kind of quiet impact Anunoby can have on a game. Traditional statistics might not best capture his effect, but the Knicks believe the long, active, strong and sweet-shooting small forward will help the team win.
The bet looked like a good one Monday, when Anunoby’s excellent debut helped the Knicks to maybe their best win of the season, 112-106 at the Garden against the team with the best record in the Western Conference.
Acquired just two days prior and with little knowledge of the playbook, Anunoby looked like he fit in just fine. And that’s kind of the point, right? He doesn’t need the ball in his hands to swing games. He defends, as switchable as anyone in the league. He plays within the offense and is solid from 3-point range. He works within an offense rather than the offense revolving around him.
And yet, he was solid with the ball, too, finishing with 17 points (including going 3-of-6 from deep) while grabbing six rebounds and registering an assist and a steal. The stat that best explains his game, though, is the fact the Knicks outscored the Timberwolves by 19 when he was on the court.
Saturday’s trade was not an immediate fan favorite because both RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley were fan favorites, but the first glimpse at the new-look Knicks provided a vision at a differently built team with probably a higher ceiling.
The most obvious change is the newest and best addition.
Anunoby will follow the other team’s best wing and will improve an already-strong Knicks defense. He was all over Edwards, who still finished with 35 points on 21 shots in part because he took over the game when matched up against the thinner Quentin Grimes while Anunoby sat.
Offensively, the Knicks continually freed up Anunoby at the corners, where he loves shooting, and several times he back-cut his way to layups. Anunoby is active and has a nice feel for where to be — and brings the strength to finish through contact. He is listed at 6-foot-7, 232 pounds and plays like he is one of the strongest players on the court.
There are other, smaller changes around these Knicks, who lost 33.2 points per game in sending out Barrett and Quickley.
There was not one minute during the entire game in which both Brunson and Randle sat on the bench. Tom Thibodeau is clearly concerned about having enough offense, and if the Knicks do not bring in another scoring wing soon, Brunson (who played 41 minutes) and Randle (36) will be relied upon heavily. Cue the minutes police, a favorite topic of Thibodeau’s.
Deuce McBride will be utilized more than usual, stepping into Quickley’s role as Brunson’s backup, and Precious Achiuwa will be the backup center. There could also be more playing time and shots for Donte DiVincenzo, who added 15 points in his 26 minutes.
Roles are changing around the team after the biggest trade of the Leon Rose era so far.
New Year, new Knicks.
Better Knicks?
It looks like it, even if the loss of Quickley, especially, will hurt them at times. In one game, Anunoby made the swap a bit easier to swallow.
“He seems like the perfect piece that complements the team very well,” Randle said of Anunoby
The Yankees will not regret trading for Juan Soto, a generational hitter who immediately escalated their World Series hopes and who could be sold on making his long-term home in The Bronx.
But during an offseason in which an enormous premium has been placed on starting pitching, you do wonder if the Yankees are wishing they could have obtained Soto without surrendering four major and minor league starters.
The Yankees traded from a point of strength — they have thrived in developing intriguing (if not always major league-successful) arms — in offloading Michael King, Jhony Brito, Randy Vásquez and Drew Thorpe. They likely figured pitchers such as Will Warren and Clayton Beeter could step into the depth roles that Brito and Vásquez vacated; they likely figured jumps from prospects such as Chase Hampton could make up for the loss of Thorpe.
Did they realize how difficult it would be to replace King as a No. 2 or 3 starter?
They couldn’t coax Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who signed with the Dodgers.
A fallback option in Frankie Montas is not being paid like a fallback option, agreeing to a one-year, $16 million pact with the Reds after an essentially lost season due to shoulder surgery.
There will not be a bargain remaining. The demand for free-agent starters is far outstripping the supply.
There are significant concerns with Jordan Montgomery (who was never dominant before the end of last season) and Blake Snell (a 31-year-old who was great last year but also led the majors in walks).
Perhaps they chase Shōta Imanaga, whose market is also on the upswing but is not regarded as highly as Yamamoto.
The next best is probably Marcus Stroman, who will be 33 in May and pitched to an 8.63 ERA in the second half of last season.
Maybe the Yankees can aim lower, or maybe they further deplete the system by trading for a Dylan Cease or Shane Bieber.
Again, Brian Cashman is not angry at himself for trading for Soto. But if the Yankees knew how hard it would be — and how much it might cost — to fill King’s spot, maybe they would have pushed to give up a position player rather than, say, Vásquez.
There was plenty of drama along the way, but the College Football Playoff final will be chalk and a battle of undefeateds: Michigan vs. Washington.
No. 1 Michigan survived No. 4 Alabama in a 27-20, overtime win at the Rose Bowl to reach their first ever CFP national championship game in a season that has been unlike any other. Michigan fans, players and coach Jim Harbaugh will tell you they have overcome tremendous adversity — and now a resilient Alabama team and legendary coach Nick Saban — to reach the final, clinched when the Wolverines defense stopped Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe on a fourth down from the Michigan 3.
Critics will point out that adversity amounted to a cheating scandal that saw Harbaugh suspended for the last three games of the regular season.
No. 2 Washington, meanwhile, has been quieter but arguably more dominant. Heisman runner-up Michael Penix Jr. and his array of weapons withstood a late charge from No. 3 Texas in a 37-31 shootout win in the Sugar Bowl.
Penix threw for 430 yards and a couple scores, Rome Odunze and Ja’Lynn Polk each topping 100 yards, but Texas got the ball back with 41 seconds and marched all the way to the Washington 13-yard line. But four passes later — the final a fade attempt to Adonai Mitchell that Elijah Jackson beautifully broke up — Washington could celebrate and look ahead to a title game that the BCS would have given us, too.
???? Julius Randle called it “amazing.” Tom Thibodeau was impressed. What was it? A 5-for-23 shooting night for Jalen Brunson. Sort of. Yes, the Knicks star point guard struggled from the floor but he also handed out a career-high 14 assists in guiding New York past the Timberwolves on New Year’s Day.
???? It’s been almost a decade since Jim Harbaugh returned to Michigan to get them back to “the big-boy table.” After a stirring comeback against Alabama, Harbaugh finally has his resilient Wolverines where he hoped they would be, writes Zach Braziller.
???? Tyrod Taylor couldn’t save the Giants’ season but he has brought a more aggressive vertical element to the offense than even franchise QB Daniel Jones. Ryan Dunleavy writes that the Giants need to understand why the offense showed more bite without Jones before they figure out whether he is part of it going forward.
???? It’s not hard to find players worthy of praise in the Rangers’ hot start, but Peter Laviolette thinks one of the club’s key forces isn’t getting enough attention. That would be Jacob Trouba, whom the Rangers coach credits for strengthening the team’s defense.