Slowing down Victor Wembanyama required the special OG touch.
With about 6 ¹/₂ minutes remaining and the Knicks trailing by 5, Tom Thibodeau ignored the size difference and stuck his best defender — OG Anunoby — on the red-hot Wembanyama.
The result was zero points for Wembanyama on three shots from that moment, and a thrilling 117-114 comeback victory for the Knicks.
“I mean, yeah, that’s OG. That’s who he is,” said Mikal Bridges, who finished with 41 points and outdueled Wembanyama — who remained at 42 points the rest of the way, two short of Wilt Chamberlain’s record for a Christmas debut — down the stretch. “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.”
Tom Thibodeau finally made the change to Anunoby after Karl-Anthony Towns, the starting center, picked up his fifth foul and was subbed out.
Wembanyama, who is 7-foot-3, didn’t even try to post up the 6-7 Anunoby.
Instead, Wemby jacked up two 3-pointers on Anunoby and then took a pull-up midrange on Precious Achiuwa after a switch.
“I told you, there’s only one guy like [Anunoby]. And it’s unique,” Thibodeau said. “You can play him on a point guard, you can play him on a center. And so it’s his gift. He’s got great anticipation. He’s got 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. And if you mess around with it, he’ll take it from you. So that’s a huge advantage. Very unique.”
Wemby was successful for most of the matinee against Towns, who was a minus-13 in his 30 minutes.
Thibodeau said switching Anunoby on Wembanyama was always a possibility and Towns’ foul trouble seemed to provide the impetus.
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The other option was Achiuwa — who was also on the floor — but Thibodeau went with his All-Defense candidate.
“The game will dictate [what you do]. You know you have that [in your back pocket]. It’s part of what you do,” the coach said. “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’re saying, ‘OK, if this happens, you have to know what the next step is.’ ”