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Knicks Give Update on OG Anunoby After Injury

OG Anunoby left the New York Knicks' latest game with a foot injury.

Geoff Magliocchetti

Feb 1, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby (8) reacts to an apparent injury during the third quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Feb 1, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby (8) reacts to an apparent injury during the third quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images
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It was a painful night for the New York Knicks, both literally and figuretively.

Not only did they see their five-game winning streak come to an end against the Los Angeles Lakers but they also lost OG Anunoby to an apparent lower body injury.

Anunoby left in the second minute of the second half when he endured non-contact pain when he prepared to drive against Lakers star LeBron James. He fled for the locker room after the incident and the Knicks diagnosed him with a foot sprain as they revealed he would not return before the period let out.

Head coach Tom Thibodeau offered a slight update on Anunoby's stats in the aftermath of the 128-112 defeat: while Thibodeau admitted he did not speak with the Knicks' medical staff, he revealed that initial x-rays were negative.

"I haven't talked to medical yet. They just said he wouldn't be coming back, because he's got a sprained foot," Thibodeau said (h/t New York Basketball on X). He also mentioned that Anunoby was checked for "something" at the end of the first half and that he wasn't sure whether an MRI would be necessary.

At the time of the injury, Anunoby was the Knicks' leading scorer with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting. The Knicks (32-17) certainly missed Anunoby's defense at the end of the game, as the Lakers won the final period by a 37-23 tally after leading by only two after the third.

Anunoby's brief, if not prosperous, time in New York has been marred by injury: the Knicks have leaped into the realm of true contention since he came over in a late December 2023 deal with Toronto but an elbow injury cost him nearly two months last regular season and he later dealt with hamstring issues during the New York playoff run.

Anunoby's status weighed heavily on the Knicks in the somber locker room.

"Obviously praying for the best," Jalen Brunson said in video from SNY. "But I know as much as you guys know right now and obviously he's a huge part our team so I'll pray for him ... It's always tough to see something like that, especially a teammate, someone who means a lot to you, to your team."

"We know it's part of the game but there's a humane aspect to it," Josh Hart said in another video from SNY. "Obviously, we hope he's good. That's always tough seeing one of your guys go down, especially the way he's been playing this whole season but especially the last four or five games."

Time will tell how Anunoby is medically judged for the Knicks' next game, a Monday visit from the Houston Rockets (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG/NBA TV).

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Geoff Magliocchetti
GEOFF MAGLIOCCHETTI

Editor-In-Chief at All Knicks

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