PORTLAND, Ore. — An evening of funny faces doesn’t worry the New York Knicks.
OG Anunoby played another 36 minutes in his second game after elbow surgery. He says he expects to be ready to go Saturday, when the Knicks play in Sacramento. However, Thursday’s 105-93 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers didn’t seem so painless for him when Anunoby was limping on it.
Reminders of the surgery Anunoby underwent in early February began late in the second quarter of the 12-point victory.
With 3 1/2 minutes left in the first half and Anunoby defending on the perimeter, the 26-year-old rushed into the paint and snatched the basketball from the Trail Blazers’ center. Deandre Ayton just as Ayton received a bounce pass. Anunoby made the steal but immediately grimaced, sliding on the ball, then curling his arm toward his torso, grabbing the previously injured elbow and shouting loud enough that the microphones on the rims picked up an anguished cry.
He left the game moments later, walking to the end of the Knicks bench, where team coach Anthony Goenaga met him. Goenaga removed the corset that was on Anunoby’s right arm, examined the elbow and wrapped it in a heating pad. Anunoby never went to the locker room. He returned to the game early in the second half and finished with 12 points and nine rebounds on 5-of-11 shooting.
“There will be times where there will be pain,” Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said. “He played until the end. He was fine. The doctor looked at him. There will be times when it gets hit and you just try to keep going.
OH MY! OG with the reverse SLAM ???? pic.twitter.com/5mUYVOCFTz
– NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) March 15, 2024
Until Tuesday, when he returned from surgery to remove a loose bone fragment in his right elbow, Anunoby had not played since Jan. 27.
The right-hander echoed his coach’s sentiments after the victory in Portland. He said he knew there would be painful moments when he returned to court.
“It’s just painful,” Anunoby said. “Nothing really happened. I just went to get a ball, and it randomly hurt, but it’s okay.
It was the “rapid movement” that triggered the pain, he said.
“I haven’t done it in a while,” Anunoby continued. “I’m just getting used to it. You can’t recreate that in return for playing and training.
Of course, the apparent pain extended beyond just one room. After that steal against Ayton, Anunoby rarely looked carefree.
After returning to the game in the third quarter, he continued to drop back on jump shots or after looking for passes. The trend continued until the final buzzer.
Midway through the fourth quarter, he drove left toward the basket and launched a mid-range jumper, landing on his feet but falling backwards. After hitting the ground, he grabbed the surgically repaired elbow as the Blazers scored a quick layup.
“I think it was just short (on the jump shot),” Anunoby said, saying the issues with his elbow did not affect his shooting. “I thought I was fouled. And I thought the referee missed it.
During the next possession, Jalen Brunson bounced a pass to Anunoby, who was under the basket, but Anunoby short-armed him trying to catch it, and the Portland rookie Toumani Camara stole the basketball as Anunoby grabbed his right elbow again.
“I feel like if he was injured he wouldn’t play. I think a lot of us have a mindset like that,” Brunson said. “But he went back there, so that’s a telltale sign.” It’s tough and we obviously want the best for everyone. Above all, we want everyone to be healthy. But I mean, if you go back there, that means you’re okay. Things are going to happen. You’re going to get beaten up. »
The Knicks announced that Anunoby underwent surgery a week after February. For most of the previous week and a half, they had listed him as suspect or suffering from “elbow inflammation.” Thibodeau reiterated that Anunoby was day-to-day during this time. On February 6, Thibodeau answered eight questions about Anunoby’s injury status before a game against the Memphis Grizzliesincluding one about how the Knicks ranked him.
Elbow inflammation is a symptom, but what is the real injury?
“It’s all medical,” Thibodeau said.
He did not release further information that day.
On February 7, the team changed the classification of Anunoby’s injuries to “bone spur irritation.” The next day, just a few hours after the NBA as the trade deadline passed, they announced he had undergone surgery.
They then said doctors would re-evaluate Anunoby in three weeks. It was expected at the time that he would be cleared for on-field activities following this re-evaluation and could return to contact drills shortly thereafter.
His schedule went as planned. On March 7, he was participating in five-on-five drills during practice. He played his first game on March 12, a 106-79 victory against the Philadelphia 76ers which featured 14 points and four rebounds on 6-of-11 shooting from Anunoby.
“We expected there to be bumps and bruises like that,” Thibodeau said.
Brunson led the way against Portland, with 45 points and four assists, but Anunoby still controlled the defense, which is nothing new.
The Knicks have reached a new stratosphere since trading for him just before the new year. The defense has become one of the stingiest in the league, thanks to its versatility up front. His spacing and cutting opened up the offense. After the win against the Blazers, New York is now 14-2 with Anunoby in the lineup this season. And despite the obvious discomfort, he says he won’t be leaving it anytime soon.
“(It’s) not even pain tolerance,” Anunoby said. “It’s just a random thing.”
(Photo of OG Anunoby controlling the ball against Portland’s Toumani Camara in the fourth quarter Thursday night: Jaime Valdez / USA Today)
