OG Anunoby struggles in brief return from injury in Knicks’ season-ender

OG Anunoby gave it a go.

Out since straining his left hamstring on May 8, Anunoby returned to the Knicks’ starting lineup less than two weeks later for Sunday’s win-or-go-home Game 7 against the Pacers in the second round of the NBA playoffs.

But Anunoby clearly wasn’t himself.

Known for his tenacious defense, the forward was visibly hobbled during his four minutes and 41 seconds on the Madison Square Garden court. He offered little resistance defending All-Star Pacers forward Pascal Siakam, who began 3-for-3 with six points when Anunoby was in the game.

And while Anunoby made both of his shot attempts – a 3-pointer and an off-balance jumper – en route to five points, the Knicks trailed by six when he exited the game at the 7:19 mark of the first quarter.

Anunoby didn’t return. The 26-year-old finished with a -6 point differential in the Knicks’ 130-109 loss, which ended their season as the Pacers advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals.

“Couldn’t really sprint, couldn’t really jump, but I just tried my best,” Anunoby said.

Anunoby said it was Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau’s decision to sub him out and never put him back in. Thibodeau also acknowledged Anunoby wasn’t moving well, saying, “I didn’t think it was worth the risk.”

By the end of the game, the Knicks had also lost their leading scorer, Jalen Brunson, to a fractured left hand.

Anunoby and Josh Hart, who suffered an abdominal strain in Game 6, were both listed as questionable Sunday before going through pregame warmups. They both started Game 7, earning rapturous applause as their names were announced during pregame introductions.

Acquired in a December trade with the Toronto Raptors, Anunoby hadn’t played since injuring his hamstring during the third quarter of Game 2. He scored a playoff-career-high 28 points in 28 minutes before exiting that night.

The Knicks struggled to guard the 6-8 Siakam without him. That defensive assignment often fell to the 6-4 Hart, particularly as the Knicks rolled with an undersized starting lineup featuring four guards, including 6-1 Miles McBride, in Games 5 and 6.

Siakam scored 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting Sunday. He averaged 20.0 points and shot 52.8% from the field during the seven-game series.

“I wasn’t going in [thinking] I was going to test him,” said Siakam, who played with Anunoby in Toronto. “Obviously, he didn’t look too healthy.”

Anunoby was upgraded to questionable on Saturday, inspiring hope he would be available for Sunday’s must-win game. Asked about two hours before Game 7 if Anunoby had made progress in recent days, Thibodeau said, “Medical wouldn’t clear him if he didn’t.”

Hart played 37 minutes on Sunday before fouling out in the fourth quarter. He finished with 10 points on 3-of-9 shooting, eight rebounds and five assists.

“It’s Game 7 at the Garden,” Hart said afterward. “Everyone’s fighting through stuff. For me, it’s go out there and do as much as you can. At the end of the day I’m going to walk out of here with my head held high. I felt like I gave everything I could this season, everything I could this playoffs.”

Hart, 29, tweaked his abdomen during the first quarter of Friday’s Game 6. He played through the injury for much of the 116-103 loss in Indiana, spending 31 minutes on the court before being ruled out late in that game.

Hart entered Sunday’s Game 7 averaging 42.6 minutes and 11.8 rebounds per game in the playoffs, leading the Knicks in both categories.

Anunoby and Hart’s ailments added to a long list of Knicks injuries.

All-Star forward Julius Randle suffered a dislocated shoulder in January that proved to be season-ending.

Sharp-shooting reserve forward Bojan Bogdanović underwent season-ending foot and wrist surgeries during the Knicks’ first-round series against the 76ers.

Center Mitchell Robinson remains more than a month away from being re-evaluated after undergoing his second left-ankle surgery of the year.

And Brunson, who delivered six performances of at least 39 points this postseason, checked out for good at the 3:02 mark of the third quarter Sunday. He was ruled out during the fourth quarter. Brunson had played in the series through a foot injury that he suffered in Game 2.

“You hate to see all the injuries,” Thibodeau said. “Josh and OG just tried to give us whatever they had. It says a lot about them. It was hit after hit. That’s part of it. Guys responded all year long.”