Browsing: Knicks

The Knicks (16-7) defeated the Orlando Magic (14-10) by a final score of 106-100 on Sunday afternoon at Madison Square Garden.

Here are the key takeaways…

— The Knicks were without Karl-Anthony Towns, as the big man was ruled out before tipoff due to calf tightness. Towns, who went for 35 points and 18 rebounds against Charlotte on Wednesday night, is the teamâ€s leading rebounder and second-leading scorer, so the Knicks were obviously missing a very important piece.

Advertisement

With Towns out, Mitchell Robinsonstarted alongside the usual starting group.

— Franz Wagner,Orlandoâ€s leading scorer on the season averaging 23.4 points per game, went down hard in the first quarter. On an alley-oop attempt, Wagner was fouled by Ariel Hukporti and landed awkwardly, appearing to injure his left knee or ankle. Wagner had to be helped to the locker room, putting no weight on his left leg.

The Knicks then suffered an injury scare of their own in the third quarter, when Miles McBride went down and ended up limping off the floor. Shortly after the game, the Knicks announced he hurt his left ankle and they would share more information on his status Monday. McBride, who has been an absolute spark for the Knicks this season, had four points and two assists in 21 minutes.

— Coming off a 33-point night against Utah, Jalen Brunson led the charge for the Knicks once again. Playing at an MVP-level this season, Brunson had 16 points and five assists in the first quarter alone, attacking the rim and playing well in the mid range. The Knicks led by four points at the end of the first quarter. After getting a rest to start the quarter, Brunson ended up going scoreless in the second frame, as both teams dialed up their defense.

Advertisement

After a back-and-forth first half, the Knicks started the second half on a 9-0 run and went on to outscore the Magic 28-18 in the quarter, with Brunson scoring 10 points.

The All-Star guard finished with 30 points and nine assists.

— OG Anunoby, playing in his second game back from injury, once again had his minutes limited. But when he was on the floor, he was in All-Star form, finishing with 21 points, seven rebounds, and three assists in just under 28 minutes. His fourth three of the game came early in the fourth quarter, pushing the Knicks’ lead to 16 points. Anunoby was a difference-maker on both sides of the floor.

–The story of the game for Orlando, even before Wagner left the game, was attacking the Knicks in transition. Orlando players beat the Knicks down the floor after made baskets multiple times early on, but the Knicks’ defense adjusted and stifled the Magic, holding them to 38.3 percent shooting on the game. Jalen Suggs, Desmond Bane, Anthony Black, and Paolo Banchero all finished in double digits, but it wasn’t enough.

Advertisement

— With Towns out and Robinson dealing with some foul trouble, Josh Hart stepped up and was all over the glass. The veteran finished the game with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Hukporti also gave the Knicks some strong minutes off the bench, finishing with six points, seven rebounds, and three blocks.

— The Knicks have now won eight of their last nine games, and are now 2.5 games behind Detroit for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

Game MVP

Anunoby, whose two-way play, even in limited minutes, played a huge role in the New York victory.

Highlights

Upcoming schedule

The Knicks will take on the Raptors in Toronto on Tuesday night at 8:30 p.m.

Source link

The New York Knicks won’t have Karl-Anthony Towns when the team takes on the Orlando Magic on Sunday. Towns — who was initially ruled questionable due to a calf injury — was ruled out for the contest, head coach Mike Brown revealed Sunday.

Following Friday’s game — a 146-112 win over the Utah Jazz — there was some uncertainty over Towns’ injury. Brown was asked about Towns receiving treatment on his calf during the game. Brown said he was unaware of that situation, and said no one mentioned it to him during the game. Towns’ minutes were limited in the contest, but that was likely due to the Knicks jumping out to a big lead over Utah.

Advertisement

He finished Friday’s game with 18 points and nine rebounds in just over 22 minutes. Towns is averaging 33 minutes to per this season.

On Saturday, Towns was deemed questionable to face the Magic due to left calf tightness.

He was able to put up some shots ahead of Sunday’s game, but will ultimately be held out of the contest due to the injury.

Towns, 30, is out to yet another strong start and is averaging 22.5 points and 11.9 rebounds in 22 games with the Knicks. His contributions have New York out to a 15-7 start, good for second in the Eastern Conference.

The Magic are also out to a decent start, and are sitting at 14-9 entering Sunday’s game.

Source link

The murmurs surrounding a potential Giannis Antetokounmpo trade have heated up in recent days, which has naturally thrust the Knicks — now at 15-7 and winners of seven of their last 10 — into the rumor mill.

The Mecca of Basketball is reportedly atop the perennial MVP candidateâ€s preference list, so the Knicks should have a fair shot at the star if they put together their best offer, the question is should they?

Advertisement

The case for trading for Giannis

Despite having seven different champions in seven different seasons, one thing stayed constant about modern NBA champions: employing a generational superstar. Now while Jalen Brunson deserves every superlative in the book, including MVP candidate, Antetokounmpo is undoubtedly in another tier of greatness.

For reference, Giannis is averaging 29.9 points, 11.8 rebounds and six assists on 57.7 percent shooting from the field — over the last seven seasons. He was off to an even hotter start this year before injury.

Heâ€s only five seasons removed from an NBA Championship and Finals MVP, and another year from back-to-back MVPs. Heâ€d have more hardware if not for other rising stars and the Bucks roster slowly disintegrating around him.

Advertisement

So itâ€s easy to imagine this peak-Shaq-esque production in an improved context and not really gripe much about the cost. Care about losing Karl-Anthony Towns and youâ€re replacing him with an equally threatening scorer, care about losing OG Anunoby and youâ€ve replaced him with another Defensive Player of the Year frontrunner.

A Giannis trade will likely have to cost two of them or other key rotation pieces, along with draft capital, a predictable and necessary pill to swallow to pair him with Brunson. Doing so maximizes your championship ceiling, which has been the ultimate goal of the Leon Rose era in New York.

Concerns about filling out the rest of the roster can be addressed at the trade deadline and by calling on current fringe rotation guys to step up. Last yearâ€s Thunder were an aberration with their impressive depth, built up by years of tanking and trading — most recent champs grinded it out with a core eight-man rotation.

Those worried about Antetokounmpoâ€s fit with a smaller guard after the Damian Lillard combination blew up should note that Brunsonâ€s younger and much more adept at screening and being a threat off the ball. Lillard also needed a year to adjust to his new surroundings, and the Bucks went through a midseason firing trying to right the ship.

Advertisement

The Knicks have a far stronger foundation to build a winner around Brunson and Antetokounmpo, with even their ill-fitting assets being valuable enough to swap if need be. You can nitpick fit and asset management to death, or you can trade for a top-five talent in the league and live with the results.

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) dribbles as New York Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) defends during the second half at Madison Square Garden / Vincent Carchietta – Imagn Images

The case against trading for Giannis

Unfortunately, the concerns with an Antetokounmpo fit are more than nitpicky. Almost any variation of this trade, save for moving Brunson, leaves more basketball questions than answers.

Dealing Towns leaves New Yorkâ€s center rotation down to an ailing Mitchell Robinson, Ariel Hukporti and Trey Jemison III. Outside of the overall talent, none of them can space the floor for Antetokounmpo, a long-standing must out of his frontcourt mate.

Advertisement

Antetokounmpo never spent more time at the five than he had to in his youth, and likely wonâ€t want to do it more now that heâ€s past 30. Assuming the trade is Towns and a wing, you could trade one of Josh Hart or Mikal Bridges for a five to help smooth out the starters, but itâ€s impossible to ignore how thin the rotation looks after all these moves.

If the Knicks deal “Wingstop†for Antetokounmpo and manage to keep Towns, theyâ€ll be in a similar glut on the wing, forced to rely on Hart, their guards, potentially Kyle Kuzma, Mohamed Diawara and whatever a potential Robinson trade could bring. Even if thatâ€s addressed, the on-court chemistry may take longer to materialize than people expect.

Towns hasnâ€t found his full rhythm in this Mike Brown offense yet. How would that go with a second alpha in front of him on the touch ladder? Defensively, would he still be able to anchor things come playoff time without the strong defensive depth once surrounding him on this team?

Thereâ€s also more to the Brunson-Antetokounmpo question than simply dismissing the Lillard situation at face. Antetokounmpo captured his title alongside two big guards in Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday that ran a ton of pick-and-roll with him as both handlers and screeners.

Advertisement

Even with his off-ball game, itâ€s not clear Brunson can replicate that formula, especially making the tough passes to Antetokounmpo when crowded on screens at his size. Those were also relatively low-usage guards that could defer to Giannis at any time, while Brunson, though flexible, primarily needs his hands on the ball.

Finally, the cost of the trade is going to eat the Knicks’ present and future chances of winning, for only a small bump to their championship ceiling. The Spurs and anybody with a similar asset pile is ready to offer up the boat for Giannis, and to match New York will have to part with every remaining scrap of its draft capital and rotational depth.

You do that for a sure thing, and while Antetokounmpo is as close as youâ€re getting, heâ€s 31 years old with a battery of injuries down his resume and a ton of questions to answer once he arrives. This doesnâ€t even get to the opportunity cost of such a trade.

Right now, the Knicks are a favorite to get out of the East, and few of their counterparts have the juice for an Antetokounmpo trade. That means New York can stand by, count its wins, watch him likely leave the conference and only have to worry about a bunch of teams theyâ€ve already bounced out of the playoffs in years prior.

Advertisement

Why sacrifice that, and this impressive core thatâ€s coming together, in a midseason blockbuster trade? The Knicks are in contention mode, not desperation mode, and this move reeks more of the latter than the former.

Source link

It took nearly 40 minutes of the Knicks†146-112 win against the Utah Jazz on Friday night for Guerschon Yabuseleto see the floor.

The forward was able to cobble together a season-high 11 points in just nine-plus minutes of an already decided game. But the final quarter signified that Yabusele is far away from the role he was expected to assume this season. The return of OG Anunoby from a nine-game absence in the 34-point drubbing pushed Yabusele further out of the rotation. Rookie second-round draft pick Mohamed Diawara also saw minutes over the forward in the first half.

Advertisement

The Knicks signed Yabusele to a two-year, $11.3 million deal with a player option in the second year, using the taxpayer midlevel exception. The move was an attempt to bolster a bench that finished last in the NBA in scoring last season.

Though Yabusele was supposed to be a key factor in New Yorkâ€s bench redemption arc this season, the free agent acquisition has been left behind in head coach Mike Brownâ€s lineups. Through 21 games, Yabusele is averaging 3.0 points and 2.2 rebounds in 10.1 minutes. Those numbers are a far cry from last year, when the forward put up 11.0 points and 5.6 rebounds in 70 games.

As New York has gone to a smaller lineup, Yabusele hasnâ€t played more than about 17 minutes in a game all season. His stints on the floor are often a quick three or four minutes before being subbed out.

Yabuseleâ€s role on the floor is much more muted than it was in Philadelphia. Due to a series of injuries that limited 76ers centers Joel Embiid and Andre Drummond to 19 and 40 games played, respectively, last season, Yabusele was given plenty of time at the center. According to Basketball Reference, 73 percent of Yabuseleâ€s minutes with the 76ers last season were at the five.

Advertisement

With the Knicks, that number has dropped to 40 percent. Karl-Anthony Towns starts at center and Mitchell Robinson usually takes up the other minutes at the five. When Robinson has sat, second-year big Ariel Hukporti has received playing time. Brown explained earlier this week that Yabusele being at the four has limited chances for him to be used as a screener.

Yabusele is like a locomotive train. When heâ€s given momentum on a drive, heâ€s hard for defenders to slow down. As the five, Yabusele was involved more often as a screener with the 76ers. It gave him the opportunity to rumble into the paint for drives or to post up against smaller defenders on switches.

Ways to generate offense

In New York, Yabusele has been nailed to the three-point line as a floor spacer, with 65.6 percent of his attempts coming from beyond the arc, up from 48.7 percent in 2024-25. Though heâ€s getting up threes, Yabusele is shooting a paltry 27.5 percent from the three-point line. Mixing up drives and shots in the paint would help get him in a better flow. Last year, Yabusele had 44 dunks, and this year, he has just one slam.

Advertisement

Playing in transition could also be helpful for Yabusele. According to NBA Stats, 12.4 percent of Yabuseleâ€s points came off fast break opportunities with Philadelphia. This year, that figure has dropped to 4.8 percent. Though Brown has talked about the Knicks playing faster, they are currently ranked 26th in pace.

The Knicks brought the Frenchman in for offense, and if heâ€s not contributing, itâ€s hard to envision him seeing much more time on the floor. The Knicks have more depth than last year, but thereâ€s a lack of size on the perimeter. Reserves Miles McBride, Jordan Clarkson, Landry Shamet and Tyler Kolek are all shorter than 6-foot-4.

Eastern Conference foes like the Orlando Magic and Detroit Pistons have length across the entire roster, so itâ€s not outside the realm of possibility that Yabusele could find his footing later in the season. But so far, the early returns are a concern.

Source link

The Knicks’starting lineup is finally at full strength.

OG Anunoby returned to the floor on Friday against the Jazz, his first game since injuring his hamstring on Nov. 14. The forward missed nine games just when he was putting up some of the best numbers of his career.

Advertisement

But Anunoby picked up where he left off, scoring 11 points and assisting one in 23 minutes on Friday night. As with any game Anunoby plays, his impact goes far beyond the stat sheet. The first defensive possession for the Knicks, Anunoby forced a bad pass from Jazz forward Svi Mykhailiuk, one of many stops by the Knicks as they got off to a 23-0 start, the best in NBA history since play-by-play has been recorded (1997-98), en route to a 146-112 rout.

“I didn’t really notice it. We were just playing. Someone told us later,” Anunoby said. “I didn’t even notice they didn’t score; we were just getting stops and going. So felt pretty good just playing the way we try to play all the time.”

That good feeling extended to Anunoby’s health. He said he felt good after the game and that he missed playing with his teammates and playing for the fans. But he did not have a good time being unable to play. In those few weeks of missing action, Anunoby described his time recovering as “not fun” but still tried to help his teammates however he could.

“Just try to help in any way possible,” Anunoby said. “Be supportive, talk to my teammates, tell them what I’m seeing, and still help.”

Advertisement

Part of that support is watching film and pointing out little things his teammates are not doing or what teams are doing to the Knicks and trying to get them to incorporate it.

Anunoby’s 23 minutes was good, but head coach Mike Brown was hoping to extend his forward even longer, but the score dictated he empty his bench. Brown did allow Anunoby to play with the reserves as the rest sat on the bench, watching for most of the fourth quarter.

“It was tough because you always wonder… you get a big lead, you donâ€t want anybody to get hurt. But we needed to get OG some game minutes to work on his conditioning,” Brown explained. “He looked good for the time he was out there. I would have loved to get him 25-26 minutes, but 22-23 worked good enough, especially with the way we had the lead tonight.”

Anunoby says he’ll need just a couple of game to feel like he’s in game shape, and he’ll definitely need his conditioning when the Knicks welcome a physical Magic team to the Garden on Sunday.

Source link

The Knicks welcomed back OG Anunoby on Friday night after the wing missed three weeks with a hamstring injury, but the situation that he found himself returning to was not the one that he’d left. In his stead, Josh Hart had re-entered the starting lineup and recaptured his old magic while the Knicks had won six of their last eight games. When it was announced that Anunoby would be returning, there were plenty of questions surrounding who would start and how seamlessly the pieces would all fit together.

For one night, the answer was a resounding “Just right,” as the Knicks were challenged in a 146-112 win over the Utah Jazz at Madison Square Garden.

Advertisement

Before Anunoby’s injury, the 28-year-old wing was thriving in new head coach Mike Brown’s system. Anunoby was averaging 15.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.9 steals per game while shooting 47.6% from the field and 39.2% from beyond the arc. He was playing elite defense on the wing and, through 12 games, seemed on track to be selected to his first career All-Star game.

But not all of his teammates were enjoying as much success.

The beginning of the year had not been kind to Josh Hart. When the season began, there were a few questions surrounding the man who seemingly never left the floor under the previous head coach, Tom Thibodeau. With a new sheriff in town, it was announced that Mitchell Robinson would enter the starting lineup, pushing Karl-Anthony Towns to the power forward role and moving Josh Hart to the bench. Then, in training camp, Hart aggravated a nerve injury in the ring finger of his shooting hand, which causes his finger to swell and go numb, obviously impacting his shooting and ball-handling. Hart decided to delay surgery until after the season, but the results were not good early in the year.

In the first 10 games of the season, Hart averaged 8.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 0.8 steals in 23.8 minutes per night. He was shooting 44.4% from the field (33.3% from deep) with a 51% effective field goal rate. On top of his offensive struggles, he was posting an uncharacteristically poor 116.1 defensive rating and a 10.1 Player Impact Estimate, which is kind of like basketball’s version of WAR (Wins Above Replacement). He seemed frustrated by his performance and his role, and there was some worry that he might not fit into Mike Brownâ€s new system as well as he had under Thibodeau.

Advertisement

Still, the Knicks were 7-3 in those games. Mitchell Robinson was proving to be perhaps the best offensive rebounder in the league, and the new offensive system that stressed ball movement and a drive-and-kick philosophy had led to strong starts for Anunoby and Bridges. It seemed like this was the way things would continue, until Anunoby hurt his hamstring just five minutes into an NBA Cup game against the Miami Heat on November 14th.

That game proved to be a turning point for Hart. The 30-year-old was asked to play more minutes with Jalen Brunson already out with an ankle injury, and Anunoby leaving the game. But Hart responded, putting up a triple-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists as the Knicks won 140-132.

Over his next nine games, including that NBA Cup performance, Hart averaged 15.7 points, 9.4 rebounds, 6.4 assists, and 1.8 steals in 34.3 minutes per game. He shot 55.3% from the field (45% from deep) with a 65% effective field goal rate. His defensive rating also improved to 113.7, and his Player Impact Estimate was up to 14.6.

His performance did not go unnoticed as head coach Mike Brown blamed himself for Hartâ€s poor start: “Iâ€ll take the hit on that…The tough part was, even backing up further, [Hart] didnâ€t really play in the preseason; he didnâ€t even really practice in the preseason. So, for me, I was behind the eight ball and was really trying to figure out how to incorporate him with what weâ€re trying to do. It just took time, and he was extremely patient with the process…His sacrifice was unbelievable because when I took him out, he just sat. When I called his number, he went out and played. But more importantly, his belief in the process, even if he thought I was wrong, was awesome.â€

Advertisement

That belief wasn’t only rewarded with improved performance but with a return to the starting lineup. Hart started the last five games coming into Friday’s contest, and Coach Brown credited his coaching staff with helping him adjust: “You know, I had reasons why I started the other way [with Hart coming off the bench],†explained Brown after Wednesdayâ€s win against the Hornets. “But my staff, I think all of them, were like, ‘Hey, these are the reasons why it would be better.†And the reality of it is, I just listened to my staff. I said, Okay, if Iâ€m the only one thinking that other way may be better at that time, then maybe Iâ€m wrong.â€

Given all of that, when Anunoby was cleared to play tonight, Coach Brown made the decision to start Hart alongside him, pushing Robinson to the bench and using the starting lineup that the Knicks had used for most of the 2024-25 season. While some of that could have been impacted by the fact that Robinson himself doesn’t seem to be 100% healthy, it was also a nod to how well Hart had been playing and how much he means to the team.

For one night, against a poor Jazz team, the new/old starting lineup worked. The Knicks led 23-0 to start the game and never looked back.

Neither Hart nor Anunoby was particularly impactful on the offensive end in that first quarter. Hart scored two points but grabbed three rebounds and dished out one assist, while Anunoby posted three points with no other stats. More importantly, the offense clearly flowed well, and both players were solid defensively. Anunoby would go on to finish with 11 points, one assist, and no rebounds in 23 rusty minutes. Still, he was back out on the court, and that’s what mattered most.

Advertisement

“It felt good,” Anunoby said after the game about being back on the court. “Missed playing with my teammates. Missed the fans. I missed it, it was really fun playing.”

Hart finished with eight points, six rebounds, six assists, and a steal in 28 minutes. Most of the Knicks’ starters sat for the fourth quarter, with not a single starter playing in the final eight minutes of the game.

At the end of the day, it was one game against one of the weaker teams in the NBA, but it seems that the Knicks are preparing for life with both Hart and Anunoby in the starting five yet again. As a whole, that lineup was the eighth most effective five-man lineup, based on net rating, of any lineup the Knicks used for at least 60 minutes last season. There were only 12 qualified lineups. That lineup also had the third-worst defensive rating.

Yet, coming into Friday’s game, that same lineup had played 40 minutes together this season and had the fourth-highest net rating of the nine qualified Knicks lineups. It also had the fourth-best defensive rating.

Advertisement

Perhaps in a new system, this five-man lineup could have new life. It seems like we’ll get a chance to find out.

Source link

The Knicks opened the game on a record-setting run and used a 47-point third quarter to blow out the Utah Jazz, 146-112, on Friday night at MSG.

It’s New York’s best home start (12-1) since 1992-1993 and the most points they’ve scored in a game since 1980.

Advertisement

Here are the takeaways…

— OG Anunoby returned to the court for the first time since suffering a hamstring injury on Nov. 14 and immediately made an impact, forcing a turnover on Utah’s first possession. Fellow starters Karl-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart, Jalen Brunson, and Mikal Bridgesall scored (in order) and soon after, Miles McBride, off the bench for Anunoby, drilled a three-pointer to put the Knicks up 16-0, forcing a Jazz timeout. The lead grew to 23 points before Keyonte George scored with 5:27 remaining in the first quarter, drawing a continuation foul against Bridges and completing the three-point play.

The 23-0 start became the largest game-opening run without an opponent point in the PxP era (1997-98), per the NBA.

— Anunoby got his first bucket on a fade-away, and-one jumper with about a minute left and Brunson capped off the dominant quarter with a step-back three-pointer with 1.6 seconds remaining. The Knicks took a commanding 41-13 lead, their largest lead after the first quarter since the 1996-1997 season. They held Utah to 17 percent shooting, with three of their four makes coming from beyond the arc.

Advertisement

— Towns got going in the second with an offensive rebound followed by a three-pointer on the next possession. George, Kyle Filipowski, and veteran Kevin Lovebegan to get the Jazz back in the game, but McBride caught fire with three straight three-pointers to push the lead to 29 points.

New York led at halftime, 68-47, despite losing the second quarter (34-27) as Lauri Markkanen heated up before the break. The Knicks shot 51 percent in the first half and won the rebound battle by six. McBride led the way with 16 points (5-for-7 on threes), while Brunson had 13, and Towns and Bridges scored 10 each. Bridges’ scoring came on 5-for-5 shooting in the first quarter, but he barely played in the second quarter after picking up his third foul.

— Towns made two straight three-pointers to open the third quarter and then Brunson decided it was his turn, hitting two straight threes to push the lead back up to 27 points. McBride’s huge night continued, as he buried his sixth and seventh three-pointers (connecting on 27 of his last 41 attempts) to make it a 100-67 game with 3:28 remaining in the quarter. Brunson kept the three-point barrage going, making two more before hitting his free throws to give him 32 points through three quarters.

The Knicks blew it open with 47 points in the third, their most points in any quarter this season, to go up 115-77.

Advertisement

— Mike Brown emptied the bench in the fourth quarter, but allowed Anunoby to keep playing and shake off any rust. He checked out with 7:15 left, playing a total of 23 minutes in his first game back. He scored 11 points on 4-for-8 shooting with an assist and two turnovers.

Brunson finished with a game-high 33 points on 9-for-17 shooting, including a perfect 9-for-9 at the foul line. Towns had 18 points and nine rebounds, while Clarkson had 16 points off the bench. All 12 Knicks who played scored. Overall, New York made 21 three-pointers, shooting 50 percent from deep as a team.

Game MVP: Miles McBride

McBride heard elongated “Deuce” chants from the Garden crowd all night long. He scored 22 points in 22 minutes, going 7-for-10 from three-point land with three rebounds and two assists.

Advertisement

Highlights

What’s next

The Knicks will stay at home and face off against the Orlando Magic on Sunday, Dec. 7 at 12:00 p.m.

Source link

Here are the latest news updates and possible return dates forKnicks players…

Dec. 4, 5:10 p.m.

The Knicks are seemingly close to getting OG Anunoby back. According to SNY NBA Insider Ian Begley, Anunoby (hamstring) has been upgraded to questionable for Friday’s game against the Utah Jazz at MSG.

Advertisement

Begley noted on Thursday’s episode of The Putbackthat this weekend’s games are a target for the Knicks to get Anunoby back on the court.

Anunoby has missed every game since suffering the injury on Nov. 14 against the Miami Heat.

Head coach Mike Brown said that Anunoby has progressed to taking contact in practice and it seems as though the forward is reacting to it in a positive manner. Of course, this doesn’t mean Anunoby will play on Friday, but it leaves open the possibility.

Dec. 3, 6:40 p.m.

Knicks head coach Mike Brown gave a short update on OG Anunoby (hamstring). The coach said that Anunoby has progressed to taking contact in practice.

Advertisement

“Itâ€s still the same, heâ€s still progressing in the right direction,” Brown said of Anunoby before Wednesday’s game against the Hornets. “Weâ€re not going to rush him.”

Brown also confirmed that Mitchell Robinson (injury management) will miss Wednesday’s game, as it’s the second of a back-to-back.

Nov. 19, 9:05 p.m.

Jalen Brunson (ankle) will return to the court and start on Wednesday night in Dallas against the Mavericks, the team announced prior to tip-off.

Brunson suffered a Grade 1 right ankle sprain against the Orlando Magic on Nov. 12 and missed the team’s next two games against the Miami Heat. New York split the two contests, winning at home and losing on the road. The team is still searching for its first road win of the season, dropping all four games away from the Garden.

Advertisement

Over 11 games this year, Brunson is averaging 28.0 points on 46.7 percent shooting and 6.5 assists per game.

Meanwhile, the Mavs will be without rookie Cooper Flagg (illness) on Wednesday night as he’ll miss the first game of his career.

Nov. 18, 6:50 p.m.

The Knicks upgraded Jalen Brunson(ankle) to questionable for their Wednesday tip against the Mavericks in Dallas.

Brunson had missed the team’s last two games since suffering a right ankle sprain back on Nov. 12 against the Orlando Magic at MSG. Already without OG Anunoby (hamstring), the Knicks could use their captain to try and get their first road win of the season.

Advertisement

Oct. 28, 7:18 p.m.

Before the Knicks’ tip-off against the Bucks, the Knicks announced that Towns (right quad strain) will play, but Yabusele (left knee sprain) will be out, joining McBride (personal) and Robinson (ankle sprain management) as players who are unavailable for Tuesday’s game.

Oct. 28, 3:35 p.m.

Miles McBride has been downgraded from questionable to out for the Knicks’ game on Tuesday at the Milwaukee Bucks, the team announced. This is the second-straight game the guard missed due to personal reasons. He was out for Sunday’s loss against the Miami Heat.

Oct. 27, 6:45 p.m.

Mitchell Robinson still isn’t ready to make his season debut, as the Knicks have officially ruled him out again for Tuesday night’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Advertisement

Robinson has been sidelined for the first three games due to left ankle injury management, and it’s still unknown when he’ll make his return to the court.

New York has also listed Karl-Anthony Towns (right quad strain), Miles McBride (personal reasons), and Guerschon Yabusele (left knee sprain) as questionable for the contest.

Yabusele is the only new addition to the injury report. Towns has been included heading into each of the first three games, but played in all three, and McBride missed Sunday’s game against the Heat for personal reasons.

Yabusele left Sunday’s game at one point and had his knee checked, but he was able to return and saw regular time off the bench down the stretch.

Advertisement

Oct. 23, 6:10 p.m.

The latest NBA injury reporthas been released and the Knicks have designated center Mitchell Robinson (left ankle injury management) as out for Friday’s home game against the Celtics.

Robinson missed Wednesday’s season opener and the Knicks are being cautious with their big man this season as they want to have him at close to full strength for an anticipated long playoff run.

The Knicks have also designated both Josh Hart (lower back) and Karl-Anthony Towns(right quad strain) as questionable.

Hart also missed the season opener but has not seen action since the first preseason game where he tweaked his back. Towns almost missed Wednesday’s game but toughed out his quad strain and to help the Knicks’ win against the Cavaliers.

Advertisement

OG Anunoby,who played Wednesday despite being questionable with an ankle sprain, is probably for Friday’s game.

Oct. 22, 10:59 p.m.

Karl-Anthony Towns was questionable, then doubtful, then questionable again in the hours leading up to the Knicks’ win over the Cavaliers and now we know exactly why.

The Knicks forward told reporters after Wednesday’s win that he is playing through a Grade 2 quad strain.

“Iâ€ve been banged up and havenâ€t really got a chance to practice or play in the last two preseason games,” Towns said. “I didnâ€t want to disappoint the fans, dealing with a Grade 2 quad strain. Itâ€s not something thatâ€s easy to do. We made it happen tonight. Glad the fans respect the effort I put in to play tonight, and my teammates, too. Shoutout to them for supporting me, knowing the situation that I was in.”

Advertisement

Towns played through the pain to give the Knicks 19 points and 11 rebounds in 30 minutes.

Source link

After failing to ward off the Celtics in Boston on Tuesday, the Knickswere not going to let the same happen against the Hornets at home the next day.

Although the Hornets pulled within three after a one-sided second quarter, the Knicks hunkered down and took care of business, defeating Charlotte 119-104 on Wednesday night.

Advertisement

New York started the second quarter up 15 points, but by the end of the first half, they had just a six-point lead. On the second of a back-to-back, the Knicks could have let the Hornets’ get to them, but Jalen Brunsonand Karl-Anthony Towns weren’t going to have it. Brunson scored 26 points on 56 percent shooting, a nice bounce back from his season-low performance against the Celtics.

While the Knicks big man scored a game-high 35 points and added 18 rebounds.

“JB draws a lot of attention. Our team did a good job of utilizing the gravity when he was on the court and getting some good looks, getting some turnovers,” Towns said of the team’s effort. “I thought we did a great job defensively, making them speed up their game and playing Knicks basketball, which is translate turnovers to offense.”

“We could have easily chalked it up and said we tried,” Brunson added. “Continue to fight, continue to stick together. Find a way to make plays defensively, got out in the open court, a good way to bounce back tonight.”

Advertisement

Towns shot 13 of 23 from the field (3-for-7 from three) and often dominated the smaller Hornets lineup. But gave credit to the Knicks captain for his offensive outburst.

“When you got one of the best players league like JB, like I said, the gravity he attracts, it allows us a chance to do something special,” he said. “Taking opportunities the defense was giving me, while doing that, being aggressive, whether it was scoring or passing to my teammates.”

Dec 3, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard Collin Sexton (8) and New York Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) fight for a loose ball in the second quarter at Madison Square Garden / Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Reason for Josh Hart starting

Wednesday was Hart’s sixth straight game starting. With OG Anunoby out of the lineup due to a hamstring injury, head coach Mike Brownhas decided to shift Hart into the starting lineup, but it took some time for the first-year Knicks coach to pull the trigger.

Advertisement

Hart started most of the games last year, but began the season as a bench player. The combo guard/forward has accepted whatever role Brown gives him, but the Knicks coach said the decision was thanks from a push by his staff.

“I rely on my staff. I had reasons why I started [Hart on the bench], but my staff, all of them, was like ‘hey, these are the reasons why it would be better,— Brown explained. “The reality of it is, I just listen to my staff. If Iâ€m the only one thinking it would be better at that time, then maybe Iâ€m wrong.

“Iâ€ve been wrong before and Iâ€ll be wrong again in the future. Thatâ€s what I love about my staff, we have guys who are not afraid…to tell me what they think. Iâ€m not always going to listen to them, but if my whole staff is telling me something, I better open my eyes and ears and figure out what they are really trying to say and maybe follow their lead instead of my lead all the time.”

Hart scored 15 points on 4 of 11 shooting with eight rebounds and eight assists in 36 minutes on Wednesday. He’s averaging 17 points per game since he was inserted into the starting lineup, while he scored just 12.5 points per game while on the bench this season.

Advertisement

Yabusele’s changing role

Guerschon Yabuselehas been a solid bench piece in his first year in New York, but his role has seeming changed as the season has gone along. Brown was asked about Yabusele not being used as a ball-screener like he was in the beginning of the season, and the head coach had an explanation for it.

“Our five is usually the one thatâ€s setting the screens. Heâ€s playing the four right now,” Brown said. “Thereâ€s a lot of ways he can get involved as the four. For instance, on a made bucket, if he takes it out heâ€s going to be involved in the action right away. It all depends on where he is and where heâ€s sprinting to as weâ€re going down the floor determines how much heâ€ll be involved. Itâ€s hard to get pick-and-pop stuff with the way we play if youâ€re not playing that center spot.”

Source link

While the Knickshaven’t carved out much of a role for Ariel Hukporti off the bench, the second-year center discovered an unconventional way to appease his coaches and teammates on the court.

It was Hukporti himself who capped his playing time in the Knicks’ beatdown over the Hornets on Wednesday night, as he fouled out in just 13 minutes of action. And the stat line wasn’t pretty — he scored zero points, committed two turnovers, and failed to record a defensive rebound.

Advertisement

But jammed in between the excessive fouls were a few strong efforts in the paint from Hukporti. To his credit, he blocked a pair of shots from Hornets leaders LaMelo Ball and Kon Knueppel, and Knicks head coach Mike Brown praised the unusual performance by giving him an amusing accolade.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever done this before, and I’ve been doing this a while, but our defensive player of the game was Ariel,” Brown said after the win. “And he had zero defensive rebounds and fouled out. Interesting. Having said that, his impact was huge. He had a couple blocks, 50-50 balls. He went vertical a couple times and changed shots in the paint.”

Hukporti’s limited production — he wound up logging a plus-minus of plus-6 — was also acknowledged by Karl-Anthony Towns, who manhandled the Hornets with a team-high 35 points and 18 rebounds. Towns appreciated his teammate not wasting a single second of an opportunity.

“He used every one of those fouls. I appreciate that,” Towns said of Hukporti. “He was special. His ability to come into the game, always staying ready, being a professional, always working on his game. It was a night we needed him. I donâ€t think we win this game without him making the contributions that he did.”

Advertisement

Hukporti, who’s actually started twice for the Knicks this season, is only averaging 2.2 rebounds and 0.8 points across 12 games. But, as he demonstrated against the Hornets, some valuable court activity isn’t always accounted for.

Source link