New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby left the team’s 128-112 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night with a non-contact injury and did not return. The Knicks later announced that he was ruled out for the game with a right foot sprain.
“I haven’t talked to medical,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said when asked about Anunoby during his postgame press conference. He added that X-rays on Anunoby’s foot were negative.
Early in the third quarter, the Knicks were pushing the ball in semi-transition and Anunoby spotted up on the left wing. After taking a pass from Jalen Brunson, he squared up, then suddenly collapsed to his knees and flipped the ball back to Brunson.
The Knicks immediately took a timeout to stop the game and take Anunoby out. He went straight back to the locker room under his own power, but was walking with a noticeable limp.
There was immediate concern given the non-contact nature of the injury, but Anunoby and the Knicks seem to have avoided a worst-case scenario. That’s great news, if so, but he could still be looking at a stretch on the sideline.
“That’s someone who’s huge for us,” Josh Hart said on the broadcast during an interview after the third quarter. “We hope he’s good, we’re praying for him.”
Anunoby has been a key figure for the Knicks ever since his arrival from the Toronto Raptors in a blockbuster trade on Dec. 30, 2023. The Knicks are 52-19 with Anunoby in the lineup since then, and entering Saturday he was averaging 16.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and two assists, while shooting 36% from 3-point range and often guarding the other team’s best player.
Injuries have historically been an issue for Anunoby, who missed the majority of the team’s second-round playoff series against the Indiana Pacers last season, which they lost in seven games. This season, however, he had appeared in all 49 games while averaging a career-high 36.7 minutes.
