The New York Knicks could have used OG Anunoby to lead the Los Angeles Lakers Gunners in the fourth quarter and that would have kept their streak going.Unfortunately, Anunabi missed the fourth game due to elbow inflammation and the Lakers ended the Knicks’ nine-game winning streak.
“You’ve always got to trust your medical staff and you’ve got to trust your players,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said before the Knicks finished with 113 points, via SNY’s Ian Begley . Anunoby has not played in a game since the Knicks beat the Miami Heat on Jan. 27. Anunavi averaged 15.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.8 steals in his first 14 games with the Knicks.Saturday, February 3Madison Square Garden.
“If he’s healthy enough and comfortable enough and can trust his body, he’ll be there.”The Knicks went 12-2 with Anunoby on the roster. They have three days between Saturday’s loss and their next game against the Grizzlies on Tuesday, Feb. 6, which would be Anunoby’s next opportunity to return. The Knicks fell apart in the 4th quarter.The Knicks’ short-handed offense fizzled in the fourth quarter as the Lakers led for more than seven minutes.
“In the semifinals, we were seeded sixth,” Thibodeau said, via NBA.com. “We had some big turnovers and dropped threes in transition. “They took off and changed the game from there.”Jackson Haye Taurean Prince’s three-pointer, as Thibodeau noted, gave the Lakers an 89-86 lead with 9:57 left in the Lakers’ 9-0 start.
Austin Reaves and Prince combined for 23 of the Lakers’ 33 points in the decisive fourth quarter.The Knicks took their final lead at 96-94 on Donte DiVincenzo’s sixth three-pointer with 7:25 left. But the Lakers went on an 11-0 run to win 105-96 on LeBron James’ easy jumper with 1:54 left. DiVincenzo ended the Knicks’ drought with a jumper 40 seconds into the second half, but the game was already within reach.
“I thought we played well all game, but [they] weren’t good enough,” Jalen Brunson said, via SNY .The Knicks’ star guard finished with 36 points and 10 assists. He scored 11 of the Knicks’ 19 points in the fourth quarter while constantly competing against the Lakers’ blistering defense.LeBron James is excited about Jalen Brunson.
Before the game, James praised Brunson for his first well-deserved All-Star nod. “Jalen is great,” James told reporters when asked about Brunson. “He’s great. He is very happy and proud. This is my first time being an All-Star. Considering how he felt after the last game, I think that’s pretty cool. “He’s a really cool kid, really humble.” James said.
“I played against Rick [Brunson]. “In that sense, it’s very surprising,” he said.Brunson was named an All-Star reserve after losing the starting spot in the Eastern Conference team’s backcourt to Damian Lillard of the Milwaukee Bucks. Brunson and Lillard are tied with Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers for the top point guard in the East at 3.75 points.However, the Bucks star edged out Brunson in the fan vote, 2,236,969 to 1,452,519.
The coaches were confident they wouldn’t rule Brunson out.Injured power forward Julius Randle also stepped in as an All-Star backup, making Brunson the first Knicks duo selected in the same season since Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler in 2013.
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