Anunoby leaves prints on clincher
PHILADELPHIA — OG Anunoby saved his most impressive play for the final game of his encouraging series.
With 2:43 left, the two-way forward, undeterred by the presence of Joel Embiid under the basket, drove into the lane and tomahawked an and-one jam that gave the Knicks an 8-point lead.
Embiid didn’t even bother to jump.
“Just attack the rim, just attack the rim and be aggressive,” Anunoby said. “I was telling myself, ‘Don’t lay it up. Just dunk it.’”
The soft-spoken Anunoby then celebrated with ferocity among his teammates, joking that it’s always part of his personality.
“I’m a pumped-up guy,” he smiled. “I do that stuff. That’s normal for me.”
Anunoby took on an increased offensive role Thursday while finishing with 19 points on 17 shots. He also grabbed nine boards and helped thwart Tobias Harris — who was scoreless for the Sixers on two shots.
“He brings a lot. To me, he’s one of the best, if not the best, defender in the league,” Isaiah Hartenstein said of Anunoby. “He was aggressive this series. I think maybe he didn’t start so aggressive but as it went on he started to be aggressive, downhill driving, getting to his midrange and finishing. That dunk was huge.”
➤ The latest local tipoff time of the season meant a different routine. With no Western Conference playoff games on the schedule Thursday because only one of its series went to six games (the Lakers, Pelicans and Suns had already been eliminated), the Knicks and Sixers drew the 9 p.m. EDT slot on TNT and Josh Hart didn’t know what to do with himself after the morning shootaround.
“No idea what the hell I’m about to do,” Hart said. “Just gotta nap. I don’t even know. I don’t even know. Yeah, I have no idea what I’m gonna do.”
The Knicks adjusted by holding their morning shootaround an hour later.
➤ Julius Randle rejoined his teammates on the bench Thursday for the first time since his shoulder surgery. He also rehired CAA — the agency closely associated with the Knicks — after briefly being represented by power agent Billy Duffy of WME Sports.
According to sources, Randle’s new agent is the same as his old one — CAA’s Aaron Mintz, who repped the power forward for years before his switch to Duffy. Sources said this move had been in the works for a while with Mintz again counseling Randle long before CAA announced him as a client again Wednesday.
Randle is eligible for an extension in the offseason worth as much as four years, roughly $190 million, according to ESPN Front Office Insider Bobby Marks.