Forward OG Anunoby returned and looked good, but it was wing Josh Hart who utterly dominated in Tuesday’s rout of the shorthanded 76ers. Hart recorded 20 points, a whopping 19 rebounds and 10 assists as the Knicks started to resemble themselves again.
“I think we played to our strengths,” Hart told reporters. “I think we played faster. We took care of the ball. We rebounded the ball. We cut, we moved, we got good shots.”
Anunoby hadn’t played since Jan. 27 because of a right elbow injury and ensuing surgery. He scored 14 in his return.
“It felt great. It’s been a while,” Anunoby said. “Missed playing here, missed the fans, missed my teammates.”
The Wizards failed in their bid to win three straight for the first time this season when they lost to the host Grizzlies on Tuesday.
Washington trailed by as many as 25 and never led.
“I have to take it on me,” interim coach Brian Keefe told reporters. “I didn’t have the group ready to play from the start. We had a terrible first half. We weren’t ready to go.”
That said, the Wizards did battle back to cut the massive deficit to 94-88 with 5:24 to go.
“We changed our mentality,” Keefe said. “We came out and played with an aggressive mindset.”
Center Myles Turner suggested the Pacers’ road win over the Thunder wasn’t a surprise, despite what some may think.
“We’re a good team that scores a lot of points too,” Turner said. “That’s mostly what this league has come to. The difference tonight was our defense. Whenever we lock in on that side, it’s a different game for us.”
Turner scored 24 points in a true team effort from Indiana — which also featured 18 points and 12 assists from Tyrese Haliburton and 18 points and 11 rebounds from Pascal Siakam.
Coach Rick Carlisle offered special praise to Siakam, acquired in a trade with the Raptors in January.
“Games like tonight are the reason you make a trade for a guy like Pascal Siakam,” Carlisle said. “He can create, he has length defensively, he can affect shots at the rim defensively and he rebounds.”
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