NYK 142, DEN 103: OG Anunoby Tops Scoring Fest
Marcus Thompson Jr.
Fire Lieutenant · Golden State Warriors fan
The Knicks Dismantled Denver, But OG Anunoby's Breakout is What Actually Matters
Look, I'm not gonna waste your time with the "142-103 blowout" recap. You saw the score. What matters for your lineups is what it tells us about how these teams are built and who's actually producing.
The Top Performers:
| Player | ESPN FP | Yahoo FP | Tonight | Season Avg | +/- Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OG Anunoby | 82.0 | 64.9 | 34/7/5 | 16.1/5.2/2.2 | +17.9 |
| Nikola Jokić | 65.0 | 58.1 | 38/8/5 | 28.6/12.6/10.4 | +9.4 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 38.0 | 37.6 | 17/13/2 | 19.7/11.8/2.8 | -2.7 |
| Jalen Brunson | 38.0 | 37.1 | 9/3/15 | 26.5/3.4/6.3 | -17.5 |
| Josh Hart | 29.0 | 26.0 | 18/5/2 | 11.8/7.5/5.2 | +6.2 |
| Mikal Bridges | 30.0 | 25.4 | 9/2/4 | 15.6/4.1/3.9 | -6.6 |
| Cameron Johnson | 26.0 | 23.1 | 10/3/5 | 11.2/3.8/2.3 | -1.2 |
| Jamal Murray | 22.0 | 20.7 | 12/1/3 | 25.7/4.4/7.3 | -13.7 |
| Mitchell Robinson | 22.0 | 19.5 | 13/5/1 | 5.0/8.7/0.9 | +8.0 |
| Christian Braun | 15.0 | 18.3 | 7/4/5 | 10.9/4.8/2.9 | -3.9 |
OG Anunoby Just Made Everyone's Fantasy Team Better
Real talk, I came in ready to write about how bad Denver looked. Instead, I'm sitting here thinking about OG Anunoby and whether this was a one-night stand or the start of something real.
34 points on 11-17 shooting with 6 threes? That's not a volume thing. That's efficiency. That's a guy who went off for 64.9 Yahoo FP on a night when the Knicks didn't even need to strain. He was +17.9 from his season average in scoring, and he actually found teammates too (5 assists). The ownership bump to 88.4% makes sense, but here's the thing: he's been sitting at 16.1 PPG all year, which means there's probably still ceiling upside if the Knicks keep running offense through him like this.
I'm not gonna act like one game changes everything, but if you've been waiting for OG to become a consistent 18-20 PPG guy with 3-and-D value, tonight looked like what that could actually look like. He went 6-6 from the free line too, so this wasn't a fluke shooting night.
Jokic Did His Thing, But It Didn't Matter
Nikola Jokic put up 38 points on 14-21 shooting. That's All-NBA selection numbers. He also grabbed 9 free throws and made all but one, which tells you he was aggressive in the post despite the game getting out of hand.
But here's where the blowout matters: he sat 30 minutes. He was probably done by the start of the fourth. So while his 58.1 Yahoo FP is solid and he still beat his season average by 9.4 points, he didn't get the volume he usually needs to really run up the score. In a normal game where Denver stays in it, he's probably playing 36-38 minutes and you're looking at 70+ Yahoo FP.
The deeper story is Jamal Murray got absolutely cooked. 12 points on 5-10 shooting with only 3 assists in 17 minutes. He was -13.7 from his season average. Denver got crushed running offense through Murray in the second half when the Knicks went small, and it got ugly fast. If you're thinking about dealing Murray at the deadline in your league, tonight wasn't a great showcase.
The Knicks' Role Players Won't Always Eat Like This
Jalen Brunson had 9 points but dropped 15 dimes. Yeah, his shot wasn't falling (3-13 is rough), but he was -17.5 from his season average. The thing is, when you're up 40 by halftime, the playmaking is gonna look crazy because guys are getting wide open looks. Don't get confused here. Brunson's assist total was inflated by garbage time.
Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns both had solid games, but again, the context matters. Hart went 8-12 from the field (+6.2 from average) and KAT grabbed 13 rebounds on a night Denver's bigs were checked out. In a competitive game, these numbers look different.
Mitchell Robinson though, that's worth noting. 13 points on 6-7 shooting in just 14 minutes. He's averaging 5.0 PPG on the season, so this is massive plus-8.0 production. But on only 14 minutes? He might've gotten into early foul trouble or the Knicks just went small once it got out of hand.
What to Do Monday Morning
OG is basically already owned everywhere (88.4%), so unless your league is doing some wild free-agent thing, you missed that boat. But if you're in a 10-team league and he somehow slipped through, he just became your new fourth or fifth option.
The real move is watching the waiver wire for guys who got early playing time when Denver's rotation got short because the game was over. Christian Braun played 30 minutes and chipped in 7/4/5 with a three. That's not a lot, but he was +0.2 from average, and he got significant minutes. If Denver gets healthy or plays a tighter game, he might crack rotations more regularly.
On the Knicks side, don't panic sell anyone. This was a statement blowout. But also don't go all in on role player production from tonight. Mikal Bridges had a quiet night by his standards (9 points, 3 steals in 24 min), and he's one of their core guys. He'll bounce back.
The Ugly Truth
Denver got embarrassed at home. Sometimes that happens. Sometimes it's just a bad matchup and the Knicks are playing elite defense. Either way, this game doesn't tell us much about playoff positioning or long-term value. It's one night where New York's depth looked better than Denver's stars playing at home.
For your lineups, the lesson is simple: OG is for real if this is a trend. Jokic's still Jokic. And everyone else from Denver? Wait for them to bounce back. Denver plays again soon, and they won't let this happen twice.