OG Anunoby Makes NBA History in Knicks' Latest Win
The New Year's celebration still hasn't stopped for the New York Knicks.
New York is still undefeated with OG Anunoby in the lineup following Tuesday's 112-84 blowout victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. The former Toronto Raptor took center stage in the latest win: he led all scorers with 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting while playing a major role in the team's finest defensive effort of the season, Portland's 84 tallies were the least earned by a Knicks opponent thus far.
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Anunoby continues to leave a lasting impression on statsheets of both the local and national variety: not only are the Knicks (22-15) the only undefeated NBA team in the new calendar year but Anunoby's plus/minus currently stands at plus-111, the highest any player in NBA history has put up through the first five games with a new team (h/t Tommy Beer).
That mark shatters the previous record held by former Knick Quentin Richardson, who was at plus-95 over his first games with Phoenix during the 2004-05 campaign. Anunoby was at plus-26 over 29 minutes during Tuesday's win.
"If it continued at that level, I would obviously be very pleased," Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said of Anunoby's performance, per Peter Botte of the New York Post. "When you come in and you're in the middle of the season, you're adjusting on the fly. It’s how quickly can you adapt? I told him that I feel like he's playing great, just because of the impact that he's having when he's on the floor."
Anunoby and the rest of the Knicks will be back in action on Thursday against Luka Dončić and the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center (8:30 p.m. ET, MSG).
