OG Anunoby makes solid return to Knicks lineup in restricted minutes

The Knicks had maintained the same winning percentage without OG Anunoby as they had posted with him this season, but they gladly welcomed back their top defensive wing for Friday night’s game. Anunoby scored 11 points in a restricted 23 minutes in his return from a strained left hamstring in a 146-112 blowout win over the Jazz at the Garden. “It’s been no fun, unfortunate, but just tried to help any way possible, to be positive and talk to my teammates,” Anunoby said after the game.“I [want to have] explosive moments, [get] conditioning, get back to my normal self.” The Knicks went 6-3 in the nine games Anunoby missed since suffering the injury on Nov.

14 against the Heat. Josh Hart, who began the season coming off the bench until Anunoby was sidelined, remained in Mike Brown’s starting lineup, with Miles McBride shifting back to the bench. Anunoby, who was cleared for contact Wednesday, was averaging 15.8 points and shooting 39.2 percent from 3-point range in his first 12 appearances while regularly defending the opposing team’s best perimeter scorer. Hart and McBride had been starting recent games with veteran guard Landry Shamet also out with a shoulder injury.  Sign up for Inside the Knicks by Stefan Bondy, a weekly exclusive on Sports+.Please provide a valid email.

By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.Enjoy this Post Sports+ exclusive newsletter! The alignment featuring Anunoby, Hart, Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges was their most-used lineup configuration last season under then-coach Tom Thibodeau. “They played well together last year.

So I did look at that,” Brown said.“But again, I’m not, whether it’s right or wrong, not a huge proponent of starting the five guys that are going to end the game.

To me, who ends the game is a much bigger deal.But at the end of the day, if something is best for our team, then I’m going to...