The battered and bruised New York Knicks
pulled off an impressive 121-91 Game 5 win over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday.
In addition to taking a 3-2 series lead, the Knicks also got some potential good news: OG Anunoby has progressed to doing light on-court work. That sets up a potential return soon.
According to NJ.com’s Adam Zagoria, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on “Get Up” on Wednesday that while Anunoby is likely going to miss Game 6 in Indianapolis on Friday, it’s a “possibility” that Anunoby returns afterward — whether that’s for Game 7 or the start of the Eastern Conference Finals.
TNT’s Chris Haynes reported on Tuesday during Game 5 that the Eastern Conference Finals — should the Knicks get there — was a “likely target” for a return date for Anunoby.
Anunoby strained his hamstring in Game 2
against the Pacers series and hasn’t played since. The Knicks are already without Julius Randle, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Mitchell Robinson for the remainder of the playoffs.
The outlook for Anunoby looked bleaker earlier in the week. As of Monday, Anunoby was not yet running and was only doing pool work. ESPN and MSG Network play-by-play announcer Mike Breen had said that he didn’t think Anunoby was “close”
to returning.
However, the extra day off between Games 5 and 6 between the Knicks and Pacers stands to benefit Anunoby and the Knicks. If the series reaches a do-or-die Game 7 on Sunday, it seems at least possible that the Knicks best defender could suit up.
