NYK 136, CHI 96: OG Anunoby Absolutely Cooks for 55 ESPN FP
Kwame Asante
Junior Accountant ยท Oklahoma City Thunder fan
OG Anunoby Goes Nuclear, Knicks Demolish Bulls 136-96
The Knicks turned Madison Square Garden into a shooting gallery last night, and OG Anunoby was the primary architect of Chicago's collapse. This wasn't a game, it was an execution. Final score was 136-96, and if you had Anunoby in your lineup, you're probably still grinning at your phone.
| Player | ESPN FP | Yahoo FP | Tonight | Season Avg | +/- Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OG Anunoby | 55.0 | 45.6 | 31/8/2 | 16.9/5.3/2.2 | +14.1 |
| Mitchell Robinson | 46.0 | 39.2 | 17/11/0 | 5.6/8.7/0.9 | +11.4 |
| Jalen Brunson | 34.0 | 31.2 | 17/1/10 | 26.0/3.4/6.7 | -9.0 |
| Tre Jones | 30.0 | 27.6 | 13/3/8 | 13.4/3.1/5.4 | -0.4 |
| Josh Hart | 24.0 | 25.2 | 7/11/4 | 12.1/7.6/4.9 | -5.1 |
| Collin Sexton | 28.0 | 23.9 | 19/2/1 | 15.2/2.0/3.3 | +3.8 |
| Jeremy Sochan | 24.0 | 23.1 | 7/8/1 | 3.5/2.4/0.8 | +3.5 |
| Josh Giddey | 13.0 | 21.5 | 6/5/5 | 17.0/8.3/9.1 | -11.0 |
| Isaac Okoro | 24.0 | 20.2 | 7/1/2 | 9.2/2.7/1.5 | -2.2 |
| Leonard Miller | 21.0 | 20.2 | 14/6/0 | 6.7/3.4/0.7 | +7.3 |
OG's Masterclass (No Catching It)
Anunoby dropped 31 points on 9-of-15 shooting with 7 threes made. That's 45.6 Yahoo points, which is utterly disgusting in the best way. More importantly, he hit his season average by halftime and just kept cooking. The +14.1 points above his season norm isn't fluky either. He shot 60% from the field and a pristine 100% from free throw, and he didn't force anything. This was pure rhythm basketball.
The question every fantasy manager needs to answer: is this sustainable? Look, Anunoby is All-NBA talent (though he didn't make the cut last season), so we know the ceiling is real. But he's also been inconsistent volume-wise all season. Last night felt like a game where Chicago's defense completely failed to adjust to his off-ball movement. If he keeps getting 30 minutes and Chicago keeps leaving him open, we're cooking. If this was a one-off beatdown special, we might see regression. I'm watching his minutes and shot selection closely.
Mitchell Robinson's Shocking Dominance
This is the crazy part. Mitchell Robinson went 7-of-7 from the field for 17 points and 11 boards in just 22 minutes. That's 39.2 Yahoo points. His season average is 5.6 PPG and 8.7 RPG, so +11.4 points is genuinely huge. The difference? Volume. Robinson simply didn't get enough opportunities all year. Last night he did. The Knicks got him in deep position early and he finished everything.
Here's what matters: Robinson showed he can still be a factor when featured. But let's be honest, deep in a blowout, the Knicks stopped running things through him in the fourth quarter. His real fantasy value depends on him staying healthy and getting consistent touches. For now, he's a dart throw in deep leagues or a spot play against soft interior defenses. Don't overreact to one game, but don't completely ignore what happened either.
The Brunson Letdown (Sort of)
Jalen Brunson finished with 31.2 Yahoo points (17/1/10), which is solid on paper but his season average is 26.0 PPG and 6.7 APG. Getting just 1 rebound is weird for him, and he shot 46% from the field. This is -9.0 points versus his norm. The Knicks were up so big so fast that the pace became completely broken. Brunson got his assists but the points didn't flow like normal. This is more of a blowout casualty than a genuine concern. Expect him to bounce back against competent defenses.
Josh Hart's Rebound Game
Josh Hart put up 25.2 Yahoo points with 7/11/4, which is -5.1 from his season average. What's interesting is where those points came from. He grabbed 11 rebounds in 28 minutes, which is legitimately strong. He only shot 3 times from the field though, so the scoring drought is real. Hart's value swings wildly based on whether the Knicks need him as a scorer or just a rebounder-defender. Last night was clearly a rebounding night, which is still useful but not as fantasy-relevant as when he gets hot from three.
The Bulls' Disaster
Tre Jones (27.6 Yahoo FP) tried to keep Chicago in it with a solid 13/3/8 line, but nobody else showed up. Josh Giddey had a full-on disaster: 6/5/5 but on 3-of-12 shooting with 2 turnovers and 2 blocks. That's 21.5 Yahoo points but -11.0 from his season average. When your team gets demolished by 40, there's not much you can do, but Giddey looked genuinely lost on offense.
Collin Sexton was Chicago's only other bright spot with 23.9 Yahoo points. He went 6-of-12 with 5 threes, so at least he was aggressive. The issue is volume. He averaged just 15.2 PPG on the season, and blowout games don't mean much for long-term value.
What's Actually Actionable
OG Anunoby stays a must-own wherever you can get him. One game doesn't change the narrative, but it confirms he can go absolutely nuclear. If someone wants to trade for him, don't sell. He's All-NBA caliber in the right matchups.
Mitchell Robinson is too inconsistent for major leagues, but in 14+ team formats, he's suddenly interesting again. Watch the next two games to see if the Knicks keep feeding him or if last night was a fluke.
Josh Giddey owners are probably panicking, but one blowout loss doesn't mean panic. That said, his shooting percentages have been brutal all season. If he doesn't improve, you need a contingency plan.
The broader lesson: when one team gets absolutely demolished, the fantasy performances get weird. Blowout games look great on the stat sheet but tell you almost nothing about sustainable value. New York is the better team, that much is obvious. But whether these individual performances repeat? That's a different question entirely.