Knicks Notes: OG Anunoby, Mitchell Robinson, Mikal Bridges

The Knicks needed a lift to finish off the Hawks. They got something bigger than that. They got a glimpse of a different version of OG Anunoby.

The guy known as their top defender turned into their go-to scorer when it mattered most. Anunoby dropped 29 points and seven rebounds in the Game 6 clincher, capping a series where he averaged 21.5 points and 8.7 boards while shooting 56.7 percent from deep, as Howie Kussoy of the New York Post noted.

He wasn’t just filling a role. He was dictating the game on both ends.

“Just doing everything — scoring, defense, rebounding, making plays,” Mikal Bridges said. “He’s doing everything out there and that’s what we need.”

At some point, the label shifts. And right now, it’s fair to ask if Anunoby is more third star than elite role player — a point also raised by Jake Nisse of the New York Post.

Robinson Brings Edge

For all the skill the Knicks have, there’s been a lingering question about toughness. Game 6 answered it.

Mitchell Robinson made sure of that.

From the start of the series, he’s been on a mission to set the tone. He literally wrote “Standing on business” on his ankle tape back in Game 1. By Game 6, he was living it.

A heated moment with Dyson Daniels only reinforced what the Knicks have been trying to show, as Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News detailed.

“Mitch is a big part of our locker room,” Karl-Anthony Towns said. “He impacts winning in ways that don’t always show up, but they matter. We’re always gonna stand behind him.”

It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t finesse. It was exactly what New York needed.