Popper: Anunoby’s defense on Spurs’ Wembanyama key for Knicks

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

The offensive explosion gets the flowers. It gets the All-Star bids and the All-NBA honors. And it gets the applause.

But where the game turned in the holiday matinee was where it so often does for the Knicks — when the defensive prowess of OG Anunoby once again made Tom Thibodeau’s heart grow three sizes. In this case, it avoided the Knicks coach turning into the Grinch.

Midway through the fourth quarter after watching the Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama methodically stake his claim to the holiday heroics, Thibodeau finally unleashed his defensive weapon, Anunoby, and put the 6-7 wing on Wembanyama, the 7-3 phenom (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? Whose 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 OK, if this happens, you 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 had 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, and Karl-Anthony Towns — the closest the Knicks had to a match for him at 7-0 and athletic — was saddled with his fifth foul. So Thibodeau made the move that seemed the logical solution.

A long-time Knicks fan can recall when then-Celtics coach Brad Stevens put 6-3 Marcus Smart on Kristaps Porzingis, the muscular guard using his strength and leverage to frustrate the unicorn. So there was precedent for attempting to go small with Wembanyama and the efforts to use size against him certainly wasn’t working.

The Knicks were trailing by five when Thibodeau put Anunoby on him and by the end of the game they’d pulled out a 117-114 win and Wembanyama did not score a point 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. 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.”

It’s the gift that keeps giving for Thibodeau and the Knicks, the unicorn skill that doesn’t get the attention the high-scoring nights do but the one that Thibodeau knows is the difference-maker for the Knicks in the long run. The shot comes and goes — Anunoby shot 3-for-10 Wednesday and the most reliable option, Jalen Brunson, was just 7-for-23 from the floor. But defense can be forever.

The Knicks may go far this season on the wings of their offense with five straight wins, a 20-10 record 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’s worst Wizards. But on tough days like Wednesday, hidden under the glitter of the 41-point explosion by Bridges, is the defense of Anunoby — the constant that the Knicks will count on as the season wears on.