The New York Knicks are just two wins away from reaching the Eastern Conference Finals for a second year in a row. Unfortunately, the OG Anunoby injury threatens to derail their scorching run this postseason.
According to ClutchPoints’ Kris Pursiainen, Anunoby was not seen in the Knicks locker room after the team’s 108-102 win over the Philadelphia 76ers in Wednesday’s Game 2, indicating that the Anunoby injury could be a pretty severe one.
“Reporters coming back from the Knicks’ locker room are saying OG Anunoby wasn’t in there and players wouldn’t really speak about his health, understandably,” Pursiainen noted on X shortly after the Knicks took a 2-0 series lead.
OG Anunoby Injury Update
Anunoby, arguably New York’s second-best player this postseason, sustained an apparent lower leg injury in the closing stages of Wednesday’s Game 2 win. The injury occurred with 2:31 left in the fourth quarter when Anunoby had a dunk attempt blocked by Paul George. He immediately signaled to the bench and walked off the court.
After the game, Knicks head coach Mike Brown had no update on Anunoby’s injury.
“It looked like he was hopping, but I don’t know anything,” Brown said, via ESPN’s Vincent Goodwill.
“They haven’t told me. I just know he left the game. Nobody said he was back. I haven’t talked to anybody yet.”
OG Anunoby Injury: Hamstring Speculation
Many analysts, sports medicine experts and fans speculated that Anunoby likely sustained a hamstring injury, given that he appeared to grab the back of his leg at the 3:00 mark of the fourth before the failed dunk attempt on PG-13 just seconds later.
“Ugh… looks like a right hamstring injury for OG Anunoby,” wrote Knicks analyst Tommy Bear. “You can see him grab at the back of his right leg on a cut with 3:00 mins remaining in the 4Q. Stays in the play got a few seconds but then immediately motions to the bench that he needs to come out.”
“Looks like OG Anunoby strained his hamstring,” wrote sports medicine expert Adam Nessim, MD. “Hoping it’s a Grade 1 and will keep him out about a week. If it’s Grade 2 will be more time.”
The Athletic’s Mike Vorkunov also speculated that Anunoby likely suffered a hamstring injury.
“It looked like a right hamstring injury,” Vorkunov said in his postgame report.
Anunoby, who finished with 24 points, five rebounds and four steals in the Game 2 win, won’t be easy to replace for the Knicks. In the ongoing playoffs, the 3-and-D star has averaged 21.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.9 steals and 1.1 blocks on staggering 62/54/81 shooting splits, while making 2.6 threes per game. However, Knicks players like Mikal Bridges and Miles McBride are embracing the “next man up” mentality.
“(Anunoby’s) one of the best two-way players in the league so it’s tough to replace that but you don’t replace him with one guy. Everyone is going to have to step up,” he said, via New York Post’s Stefan Bondy.
“We’ll see what it is, but it’s next man up,” Bridges said of the OG Anunoby injury.
Knicks vs. 76ers Game 3 tips off at 7 p.m. ET on Friday. The Knicks are expected to provide an update on Anunoby sometime later on Thursday.
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