Jalen Brunson will garner most of the headlines from the New York Knicks' surprising overtime win over the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series Monday night at TD Garden. He played very well and hit some clutch 3-pointers late in the game.
But the biggest difference-maker for the Knicks in their 108-105 victory was OG Anunoby.
The veteran wing made a massive impact on both ends of the floor. If that continues, the Knicks will have a real chance to upset the Celtics and reach the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2000.
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SIGN UP HERE Anunoby tied Brunson with a team-high 29 points, bolstered by 6-for-11 shooting from 3-point range. The Celtics led by 20 with 5:37 left to play in the third quarter. That's when the Knicks finally woke up, and it started with Anunoby 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to trim the lead to 14.
It didn't take much longer for the Knicks to erase most of the Celtics' lead. Another 3-pointer by Anunoby early in the fourth quarter pulled the Knicks within one.
knock it down, OG‼️ pic.twitter.com/Y7Dlntbo6V
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) May 6, 2025
Anunoby also out-hustled Celtics forward Jayson Tatum for a crucial and-1 dunk in overtime.
mikal ➡️ josh ➡️ OG SLAM 💥 pic.twitter.com/32LURK0gfH
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) May 6, 2025
When Anunoby gives the Knicks offensive production, they are tough to beat. For example, New York is 4-0 in the 2025 playoffs when he scores 20-plus points. They were 22-10 in the regular season when Anunoby scored 20 or more points, and they've won five consecutive games in which he's scored 25-plus points.
Anunoby averaged 18 points per game this season, but he only scored nine per game in the four regular season matchups versus the Celtics. If he can just score close to his regular season average in this second-round playoff series, that would take a lot of pressure off of Brunson to be great.
But it wasn't just Anunoby's scoring that played a pivotal role in New York's series-opening win. His defense was even more important.
The Celtics shot 2-for-18 when Anunoby was the primary defender in Game 1. He dominated defensively and picked up only one foul.
OG STEAL & SLAM. TIE BALL GAME.
— NBA (@NBA) May 6, 2025
7 minutes to play in Game 1 on TNT 🚨 pic.twitter.com/MQil4UmU1H
Tatum (1-for-6) and Jaylen Brown (0-for-2) both struggled against the Knicks forward. But they weren't alone.
Tatum easily won his matchup with Knicks forward Mikal Bridges in the regular season. In those four matchups, Tatum shot 13-for-19 for 35 points when Bridges was the primary defender. However, Tatum shot just 4-for-16 for 15 points versus Anuboby in the three regular season meetings in which the Knicks forward played.
Anunoby has been a better defender on Tatum, so it wasn't surprising that the Knicks tried to match him up on the Celtics superstar as much as possible in Game 1. Bridges mostly guarded Derrick White as a result.
Anunoby is unlikely to score 29 points again in this series. It's 11 points above his regular season average. Expecting him to shoot almost 60 percent on 11 3-point attempts again in this series would be a reach, too. But could he score 20-plus points again in this series? Absolutely. Brunson's ability to drive to the basket and draw multiple defenders will give Anunoby open looks from beyond the arc.
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On the defensive side is where Anunoby's impact can be consistently elite. He's been one of the league's best perimeter defenders for years. He has height and length at 6-foot-7 and enough strength at 240 pounds to bother a lot of wings.
The Knicks are still underdogs in this series. The Celtics have more talent, depth and playoff experience. And it's unlikely that Boston will have many more horrific 3-point shooting performances like it did in Game 1. The C's literally set a single-game playoff record with 45 missed 3-pointers.
But the Knicks do have a chance to make this series more competitive than originally thought. That path runs through Anunoby and his ability to make a strong impact, particularly defensively against Tatum and Brown.