Tag: Popper

It was Mikal Bridges’ turn to play hero on Christmas Day, scoring 41 points and deservedly soaking in the love from the Madison Square Garden crowd — accepting the accolades and the apologies from the media that Josh Hart insisted he receive.

The offensive explosion gets the flowers. It gets the All-Star bids, the All-NBA honors and the cheers. But where the game turned in the holiday matinee against the Spurs was where it so often does for the Knicks — when the defensive prowess of OG Anunoby again made coach Tom Thibodeau’s heart grow three sizes.

In this case, it prevented Thibodeau from turning into the Grinch.

Midway through the fourth quarter, after watching the Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama methodically drive toward some holiday heroics of his own, Thibodeau finally unleashed his defensive weapon. Anunoby, the 6-7 wing, was put on Wembanyama, the 7-3 phenom.

(By the way, no one who faces him believes that measurement — guessing 7-4, 7-5 or maybe more, with a wingspan that seems to reach the width of the court.)

“The game will dictate,” Thibodeau said of the decision. “You know you have that. It’s part of what you do. What’s going on in the game? Is someone in foul trouble? Who’s got it going? Do you want to change the matchup to give him a different look? You go into the game knowing what the different possibilities are. You’re doing the prep work to play them and you’re watching what he’s doing against other teams, so you [say] OK, if this happens, [I] have to know what the next step is.

“You’re looking at what might be the best matchup to start, and then the game unfolds and a lot of stuff happens.”

What happened on this day was Wembanyama already had 42 points with more than six minutes left, visions of a historic 50-point game dancing in his head. Karl-Anthony Towns, who, at 7 feet and athletic, is the closest the Knicks had to a match against him, was saddled with five fouls. So Thibodeau made the move that seemed the most logical.

Knicks fans may recall when then-Celtics coach Brad Stevens put 6-3 Marcus Smart on 7-3 then-Knicks phenom Kristaps Porzingis, with the muscular guard using his strength and leverage to frustrate the unicorn. So there was a precedent for attempting to go small against Wembanyama — and the efforts to use size against him certainly weren’t working.

The Knicks trailed by five when Thibodeau made the switch to Anunoby and wound up pulling out a 117-114 win. Wembanyama shot 0-for-3 and did not score in the final six minutes.

“I mean, yeah, that’s OG,” Bridges said. “That’s who he is. We needed him to guard him at the end. He did a great job. I wish he was on him a little earlier, but it’s just OG, man. Any size, any guy, he can guard from a point guard to the tallest dude in the NBA. Just a credit to OG, how he works and how he guards.”

“I told you, there’s only one guy like him,” Thibodeau said. “And it’s unique. You can play him on a point guard, you can play him on a center. It’s his gift. He’s got great anticipation. He’s got a great will to do it. He’s got great feet. He’s got quickness, anticipation, and he’s got length. And it’s hard to throw the ball over him. If you mess around with it, he’ll take it from you. So that’s a huge advantage. Very unique.”

It’s the gift that keeps giving for Thibodeau and the Knicks, a skill that doesn’t get the attention that high-scoring nights do but one that Thibodeau knows is a difference-maker for the team in the long run.

Shooting comes and goes — Anunoby shot 3-for-10 Wednesday and the Knicks’ most reliable option, Jalen Brunson, was 7-for-23. But defense can be forever.

With five straight wins and 15 victories in their last 19 games, — and three more games to close out 2024 on the road against an injury-depleted but still feisty Magic squad and two against the NBA-worst Wizards — the Knicks (20-10) may go far this season on the wings of their offense. But on tough days like Wednesday, hidden under the glitter of the 41-point explosion by Bridges was the defense of Anunoby — the constant that the Knicks will count on as the season wears on.

Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.