Knicks' OG Anunoby, Josh Hart Get Game 7 Updates (Report)

The New York Knicks could have two major contributors back for Game 7 against the Indiana Pacers.

Jan 3, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Chicago Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan (11) drives to the basket / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The depleted New York Knicks could have some reinforcements back for one of the biggest games in recent franchise memory.

Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Knicks stars OG Anunoby and Josh Hart will be listed as questionable for the series finale of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Indiana Pacers on Sunday late afternoon (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC).

The update on Anunoby is particularly optimistic: originally believed to be out for the remainder of the conference semifinal round due to a hamstring issue (one that has kept him out of each of the last four games), Wojnarowski's report declared that the former Toronto Raptor "advanced in his rehabilitation" and plans to partake in the pregame shootaround that should determine his Game7 fate.

Little more needs to be said about the way Anunoby's late December arrival revolutionized the Knicks fortunes: the team is 26-5 when he dresses and plays and he came up big in his most recent appearance in Game 2 by picking up the offensive slack when Jalen Brunson missed the second period with a foot injury.

Also questionable is Hart, who left Friday's Game 6 loss in Indianapolis early with an abdominal strain.

"The expectation is that he'll do everything within his power to try to play on Sunday, sources said," Wojnarowski's report reads of the Hart plan. "Even if on the milder side, abdominal strains are limited in treatment options, unlike ankle sprains or leg bruises that can be treated with ice and stimulation."

To say that the Knicks would be hard-pressed to replace Hart's minutes would probably be the understatement of the year: no one in the NBA has played more minutes in the new calendar year than Hart, who already has four complete games this postseason. Hart has been a stellar substitute for Julius Randle, whois one of three Knicks out for the year with injuries (along with Bojan Bogdanovic and Mitchell Robinson).

[[UPDATE: 8:30 p.m. ET]]: Wojnarowski had further updates during ESPN's NBA Countdown pregame program before the Western Conference playoff match between Oklahoma City and Dallas mentioning "real optimism" for Anunoby's participation.

"That left hamstring strain, he has been rehabbing it," Wojnarowski told host Malika Andrews. "He's going to go to shootaround, I'm told, tomorrow, test that out. But, barring it feeling worse than it did today, I think there's a real possibility he could play for the Knicks."

Wojnarowski reiterated that Hart's situation is a bit more difficult, as abdominal issues make even normal body functions (such as coughing and sneezing) painful. He did declare that while Hart will do "everything in his power" to partake, he will do so in unescapable discomfort.

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