Britain’s O.G. Anunoby helps new NBA club upset high-flying T-Wolves

NEW YORK – British forward O.G. Anunoby was still getting used to things even as he sparkled in his first game for the New York Knicks, helping his new team upset Western Conference leaders Minnesota Timberwolves 112-106 on Jan 1.

His teammate Julius Randle scored a game-high 39 points while Anunoby added 17 points and six rebounds only hours after arriving from the Toronto Raptors in a National Basketball Association (NBA) trade over the weekend.

The 26-year-old London-born defensive standout, who won an NBA crown with the Raptors in 2019 and led the league in steals last season, was learning about his new team on the fly after more than six seasons in Toronto.

“Even during the game, they were telling me, ‘Go here. Do this’,” Anunoby said. “They were helping me out for sure, a lot of them, and I’m thankful for it.

“Everything really. New terminology. Just trying to figure everything out the best I can, so a lot of read-and-react today.

“Each day I’m going to get better at everything, learning the plays, learning the terminology, learning the steps. I’ll learn every day.”

Anunoby’s strong showing so soon after arriving at a hotel and getting his physical examination on the night of Dec 31 impressed Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau.

“I thought, first game, impressive, just to be ready and kind of figure it out on the fly,” said the coach.

“Played smart, played off people well, played great defence, hustled, moved without the ball, shot good shots, made good plays, so a very good start.”

Thibodeau tried his best to keep things simple for the seasoned playmaker, who has career averages of 11.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.2 steals a game.

“You don’t want him overthinking things,” the coach added. “Just give him a basic framework and we can add day by day. If you get lost, just play.”

Anthony Edwards scored 35 points to pace the Timberwolves, who fell to 24-8 but still lead the Oklahoma City Thunder (22-9). The Knicks (18-15) are seventh in the East.

Elsewhere, Indiana guard Tyrese Haliburton just missed a triple-double in leading the Indiana Pacers to a 122-113 victory at Milwaukee, where Greek star Giannis Antetokounmpo had a triple-double in defeat.

Haliburton had 26 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds for the Pacers (18-14), who also had 25 points and 13 rebounds from Canadian reserve guard Bennedict Mathurin.

“We’ve got a lot of guys who can contribute,” said Haliburton.

“That’s the best part about our team. Some nights, the starting line-up’s got it going. Nights like tonight, where we come out slow, our bench has to come in and kind of wake the game up.”

Antetokounmpo delivered 30 points, 18 rebounds and 11 assists for the Bucks, who fell to 24-9 and 2.5 games behind Eastern Conference leaders the Boston Celtics (26-6).

The two teams will face off again on Jan 3 in Indiana.

“We’ve got to figure it out,” Antetokounmpo said. “We’ve got to go watch the tapes, figure out what they do well against us and try to stop it. And if we cannot stop it, we’ll probably lose again.”

The Phoenix Suns, playing without Kevin Durant due to a sore right hamstring, got 21 points from Bradley Beal and 18 from Bosnian centre Jusuf Nurkic in defeating the visiting Portland Trail Blazers 109-88.

After snapping an NBA record-tying 28-game losing streak by beating Toronto, the Detroit Pistons went back to their frustrating form with a 136-113 loss at Houston. Turkish centre Alperen Sengun led the Rockets with 26 points and nine assists. AFP