Knicks OG Anunoby named to NBAs all-defensive second team: Versatility is off the charts

CLEVELAND — For the second straight year, and the third time in his career, OG Anunoby was recognized as one of the premier defensive players in the NBA. The stalwart two-way wing was selected to the NBA’s all-defensive second team by a panel of 100 voters, it was announced Friday night. Anunoby has now made the second team three different times.Knicks coach Mike Brown and teammate Karl-Anthony Towns had said in recent weeks that Anunoby deserved to be a first-team selection. “His versatility is just off the charts and you can do a lot of things with your defense because of him,” Brown said.

“In my opinion, he deserves first-team all-defense this year — and hopefully the powers that be will see it that way, too.”That didn’t happen.The first team selections were Rudy Gobert of the Timberwolves, Chet Holmgren of the Thunder, Victor Wembanyama of the Spurs, Derrick White of the Celtics and Ausar Thompson of the Pistons.

Anunoby received 11 first-team votes. The Knicks are two wins away from their first NBA Finals’ appearance in 27 years, and head to Cleveland with a chance to bury the Cavaliers.But Mike Brown is concerned about one thing, the officiating. “I don’t know what to do about the free-throw line.It was 22-6 in the second half,” the Knicks’ coach said after his team’s comfortable Game 2 victory.

“We’ll go back and watch the film, and maybe we were fouling, but that’s a pretty big discrepancy when you’re talking about 22-to-6 in free throws.”“Maybe we were fouling and they weren’t, I don’t know.”Overall, the Cavaliers attempted 18 more free throws, 32 to 14, than the Knicks in Game 2.In the series opener, the Knicks did get to the line more, 32 to 23.The Cavaliers, it should be noted, rank second of the 16 teams to qualify for the playoffs in terms of free throws attempted at 28.8.

Only the Nuggets (30.2) got to the line more. Donovan Mitchell insisted he is healthy after Game 2, though his coach, Kenny At...