Anunoby's defensive stops and offensive clutch plays were pivotal down the stretch in Philadelphia.
The New York Knicks picked up a hard-fought 112-109 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday, and head coach Mike Brown pointed to one player as the reason his team could make crucial adjustments down the stretch.
With Karl-Anthony Towns fouling out and Mitchell Robinson in foul trouble of his own, Brown went with a smaller lineup in the final minutes of the game and gave OG Anunoby the tall task of guarding Joel Embiid at the five.
After the game, Brown made it clear just how much Anunoby means to his team's ability to adapt on the fly.
"We can't do anything like that if you don't have a guy like OG," Brown said of going with the smaller lineup. "OG allows us to play the basketball game in a lot of different ways."
Anunoby Delivers on Both Ends
The 28-year-old forward finished with 23 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals in the win, but his impact went far beyond the stat sheet.
Brown was especially impressed with Anunoby's defensive effort throughout the night.
"OG obviously changed the game defensively," Brown said. "His quick decisions with the basketball, it was beautiful to watch. Defensively, guard Paul George, guard their power forward and then guard Joel Embiid. He was phenomenal defensively."
Despite taking on the difficult assignment of guarding the former MVP, Anunoby did his job keeping Embiid from completely taking over the game late in the contest, as Embiid scored just four points in the final five minutes after finishing with a game-high 38 points overall.
The Win the Knicks Needed
The victory was a big one for New York, who improved to 27-18 on the season and snapped a rough stretch that had seen them go just 3-9 over their previous 12 games.
The Knicks came into Saturday having lost both previous meetings to Philadelphia this season, so getting the win on the road in the third matchup was significant for the NBA Cup champions.
Jalen Brunson led the way with 31 points and six assists, but it was the clutch contributions from Anunoby that sealed the deal.
With the 76ers cutting the lead to just three points and under two minutes remaining, Anunoby delivered a putback dunk that seemed to settle down the team before following it with a three-pointer and then assisting on a Landry Shamet three to give New York a much-needed eight-point cushion.
The 76ers, who fell to 24-20 with the loss, made one final push and cut it back to three, but Anunoby came up with a steal of Embiid's pass to ice the game and secure the important road victory for the Knicks.
What's Next
The Knicks will host the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday as they look to build on this momentum and climb back up the Eastern Conference standings, where they currently sit in third place behind the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics.
With Anunoby playing the way he has been and Brown willing to get creative with his lineups, New York has the flexibility to compete with anyone when it matters most.