OG Anunoby goes for 13 points in preseason debut as Knicks beat Sixers

The Knicks continued their preseason schedule at the NBA’s Abu Dhabi Games, beating the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday, 112-104.

With Josh Hart sidelined due to back spasms, OG Anunoby reentered the starting lineup and made his 2025 preseason debut.

Here are the takeaways…

— After missing New York’s first preseason game on Thursday, Anunoby got out to a strong start in the first quarter against the Sixers. He missed his first shot of the night, but nailed his next two, including a three-pointer, and then found Mitchell Robinson in transition for an alley-oop jam.

After an early breather, Anunoby came back into the game with about three minutes left in the quarter. He hit his second three of the game to extend New York’s lead, finishing the quarter with eight points. The wing stayed hot and made another three-pointer to open the second quarter, going 3-for-5 from deep in the first half with 11 points.

— Jordan Clarkson, Miles McBride, and Guerschon Yabusele were new head coach Mike Brown‘s first substitutions of the game, midway through the first quarter. Clarkson took after Anunoby and hit Robinson for another fast break alley-oop to put the Knicks up 27-22 with about two minutes left in the quarter. The pair connected again with the clock winding down, as the guard cut through the defense and found the big man underneath the rim for another easy dunk.

— The Knicks shot 60 percent as a team (12-for-20) in the first quarter and led the Sixers, 31-23. They held Philly to 36.8 percent shooting (7-for-19), as Tyrese Maxey paced them with eight points.

— Malcom Brogdon started the second quarter as he and McBride ran the offense for about four minutes before Jalen Brunson subbed back in to the game. Yabusele showed how he can be a big contributor to the team in the second, hitting a three and getting back on defense to block Justin Edwards at the rim.

New York coasted through the rest of the second quarter, outscoring Philadelphia 28-24, and leading 59-47 at halftime. Anunoby led the way with 11 points and Brunson had nine of his own. Maxey had 16 points for the Sixers, playing nearly the entire first half.

— With the starters ending their days early, Brown opted for a lineup of Brogdon, Clarkson, Yabusele, Pacome Dadiet, and Landry Shamet to open the second half. Tyler Kolek and Ariel Hukporti were the first group of subs, while Kevin McCullar Jr., Mohamed Diawara, and Garrison Matthews entered with about three minutes left in the third quarter.

All fighting for roster spots and potential rotational minutes, the bench unit showed effort defensively toward the end of the third quarter, forcing a shot clock violation that got the starters off their seats. Although the 76ers won the third quarter 28-23 and trailed, 82-75, heading into the fourth quarter.

— Philadelphia did not give up in the fourth quarter, cutting the Knicks’ lead down to five points with under two minutes left. Kolek followed up a miss with a floater to push the lead back to seven with under a minute left. New York held on for the 112-104 win.

Brunson finished with 14 points, Anunoby scored 13, and Mikal Bridges had 10 points. McCullar, Matthews, and Tosan Evbuomwan each scored six points off the bench.

Highlights

the DEMON is BACK pic.twitter.com/KcjyCdPtDj

— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) October 4, 2025

things we missed… THIS
OG TO MITCH SLAM pic.twitter.com/7zqiZLsQKR

— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) October 4, 2025

Guerschon Yabusele says no pic.twitter.com/WvxC7CwDrG

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) October 4, 2025

Kolek Hukporti pic.twitter.com/jQvVVpddq5

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) October 4, 2025

Up next

The Knicks return home to The Garden to take on the Minnesota Timberwolves and old friends Julius Randle and Donte Divincenzo on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

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