Julius Randle, Knicks knock off West leading Timberwolves in OG Anunoby’s strong debut

OG Anunoby fully expects to be a strong fit with the Knicks and within Tom Thibodeau’s system, and the two way standout showed precisely why in an active team debut following Saturday’s trade from the Raptors. Anunoby posted 17 points and finished a game high plus 19 in 35 minutes before fouling out late in the fourth quarter as the revamped Knicks rang in 2024 by building a 22 point lead before hanging on for a 112 106 victory over the West leading Timberwolves at the Garden on Sunday to halt their three game losing skid.

Julius Randle led the Knicks (18 15) with 39 points and Jalen Brunson had 16 with a career high 14 assists, while Anthony Edwards scored 35 points and Karl Anthony Towns had 29 for Minnesota (24 8). The 26 year old Anunoby also showed the MSG faithful why he is considered one of the better “3 and D” players in the league, after leading the NBA in steals last season and connecting on 37.5 percent of his career 3 point attempts.

Before the game, the 6 foot 7 wing, who won an NBA title with the Raptors in 2019, said he believes Thibodeau’s style of play suits his game. “I think I’m a tough player. His players are tough, they play hard, they play to win. I think I do all of those things,” Anunoby said “I think it’s a tough group, resilient group, and we all just want to win.

So I think I’ll fit right in with that. “Just to start playing, to get it going with my teammates, and play at MSG in front of the fans, [I’m] just really excited.” Two days after he was acquired from the Raptors in a deal that shipped RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley north of the border, Anunoby received a crash course on Thibodeau’s system and took part in a morning walk through before the game.

Thibodeau’s nine man rotation boasted three new players — Anunoby in place of Barrett, fellow trade pickup Precious Achiuwa (zero points in eight minutes) as the backup center in place of Taj Gibson and backup point guard Miles McBride, who signed a three year extension worth $13 million on Saturday, for Quickley.

“I think that’s the challenge. It’s really a league of change and there’s constant, whether a player gets injured or a player gets traded, whether it’s free agency, a draft, year to year you’re faced with different challenges,” Thibodeau said. “And so how quickly can we adapt? That’s the challenge that we’re looking at right now.” Anunoby, wearing No.

8, received a nice ovation during pregame introductions and the crowd went even crazier when he buried his first shot as a Knick, a 3 point attempt barely two minutes into the game. Randle carried the bulk of the scoring load in the first quarter, pumping in 15 of the Knicks’ 23 points. including 2 for 2 beyond the arc.

Still, Edwards also netted 15 and Towns had nine in the quarter as the Timberwolves built a 32 23 advantage through one. Brunson scored his first points of the game with a driving bucket and one, before he also knocked down a trey to complete a quick 12 0 spurt that put the Knicks up, 35 34, less than three minutes into the second.

Brunson ended up with 13 by halftime after getting blanked in the opening quarter, and he added six assists before intermission to help the Knicks finish the half with a 61 49 lead. Anunoby further invigorated the crowd with two more buckets in the second, both dunks off feeds from Donte DiVincenzo (15 points).

Anunoby got ahead of the field in transition and one handed home another slam early in the third and Brunson found him cutting to the basket for a fourth dunk, as the Knicks went up by as many as 22. The Knicks still led 94 78 to start the final period, but the Timberwolves opened the fourth on a 10 0 run to close within six with 8:59 remaining.

Anunoby sank his third 3 pointer to provide some temporary breathing room, but a trey by Towns shaved the score to 99 95 with 6:40 to play. Randle sank two in close buckets, including Brunson’s 14th assist, to put the Knicks back up by nine. Two Randle jumpers in the final two minutes helped them maintain an eight point cushion, and he converted a three point play along the baseline to seal it in the closing seconds..