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Knicks' Mike Brown: OG Anunoby 'is an All-Star,' deserves to be in Defensive Player of the Year consideration

OG Anunoby has never been an All-Star in his nine-year NBA career.

That will likely change this season if the Knicks wing keeps playing like he has through his first nine games, especially if head coach Mike Brown has a say.

But that's not all the recognition he believes Anunoby deserves.

"OG is an All-Star, in my opinion," Brown said after Tuesday's 133-120 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. "Not only is he an All-Star, he's an all-defensive performer. In my opinion, he should have an opportunity, amongst others in our group, to fight for Defensive Player of the Year in the league.

Brown continued, saying the 28-year-old is reaching new heights as a "playmaker" while still adjusting to a different style of offense.

"He's worked his tail off in the summertime, first of all. And then secondly, he's just getting comfortable with what we're trying to do. He knows where guys should be on the floor when he drives. He's making quick decisions with the basketball. When he feels a second defender step up, again based off of what we're trying to do offensively, he knows what spot should be filled. Anybody can make those passes almost blindly because he knows he's done his job and somebody should be there.

"He's just embracing what we're trying to do offensively with his talent, his size, his athleticism, his IQ. It's just showing that he can still go to another level as a playmaker."

In his first season under Brown, Anunoby is averaging career-highs in points (18.2), rebounds (6.2), and steals (2.2) per game. 

He's also shooting a career-high 43.8 percent from three and making a career-high 3.1 three-pointers per game. His true shooting percentage is a best 62.5 percent, while his usage rate is also a high of 21.1.

Defensively, Anunoby currently ranks fifth in the league in defensive win shares at 0.187, trailing only Miami's Jaime Jaquez Jr., OKC's Ajay Mitchell and Chet Holmgren, and San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama. While it may be difficult to steal the DPOY from Wemby, Anunoby could find himself on an All-Defensive team.

Previously, Anunoby finished seventh in DPOY voting in the 2022-23 season after leading the league in steals (1.9) and earned All-Defensive Second Team honors that year. 

What Anunoby has done so far this season is impressive, and, like Brown believes, his efforts should earn him a spot at the 2026 NBA All-Star Game in Inglewood, CA  and other accolades at the end of the year.

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Knicks continue offensive onslaught vs. Grizzlies, but defense still a work in progress: 'We've got to finish games better'

The Knicks continued their dominance at home on Tuesday night, defeating the Grizzlies 133-120, pushing their winning streak to five games and starting the season 7-0 at MSG.

New York showed a lot of what has made them dangerous in the early going. They throttled the Grizzlies' defense for 78 first-half points and forced 11 Memphis turnovers. If you saw the final score, you'd think it was a much closer game, and the Knicks would tell you that it shouldn't have been.

Despite their offensive outburst in the first half, the Grizzlies outplayed them in the second, outscoring the Knicks 66-56. And first-year head coach Mike Brown brought up his team's defensive lapses in his opening statement after Tuesday's win.

"The first half, we did a really good job in a lot of areas...and our transition defense in the first half wasn't great but it was ok against a team like that," Brown said. "According to our measurements, they had 16 fastbreak points against us in the first half. The second half, we let up. We didn't sprint back like we should have...we did not play our rules and they got layup after layup after layup against us in transition, which gave them confidence...29 fastbreak points to a team in a half is going to kill ya. Especially when you have 11 turnovers in that half. We were careless with the ball as well...Hopefully, we'll grow from this and try to put 48 minutes in our next game because those two areas we did not do a good job of."

The Knicks will hope to put together that full 48-minute performance on the second of their back-to-back on Wednesday against the Magic, but they wasted an opportunity for extra rest because they allowed the Grizzlies to stick around. One positive is that New York is expected to have center Mitchell Robinson in the lineup after he sat out Tuesday due to injury management. Brown was asked about the defense and Robinson's role in it, but the coach didn't want that to be an excuse.

"It wasn't about Mitch; they killed us in transition," he said. "Give them credit because they kept fighting, but we could have had anybody on the floor, it would have been bad. We didn't do a good job getting back, we didn't do a good job following our rules while getting back."

While the Knicks let Memphis hang around in the second half, the offensive performance they put on allowed them to hold on. The team scored 130-plus points in their third straight game, which is the first time that's been done in franchise history. 

Jalen Brunson was awesome, scoring 32 points while grabbing five rebounds and dishing 10 assists. He is now tied for third in franchise history with Stephon Marbury and Ray Williams for the most 30/10/5 performances as a Knick (five). 

But even the captain wasn't pleased with how his team finished Tuesday's game.

"Yeah, we're clicking (on offense), most importantly, we've got to finish games better," Brunson said. "Whatever's happening on offense, there's going to be times when we're not making shots and stuff. But we got to better defensively no matter what. It has to be our focus moving forward."

Brunson says the lapses are a product of late communication or simply a lack of communication, but was encouraged by the team's offensive production, especially in the first half.

"Ball's moving, playing off each other, playing ball," Brunson said. "When the ball is going in like that, it's great to see."

The Knicks shot 55 percent (39.3 percent from three) with 19 assists in the first two quarters. That's a product of Brown's offensive system that has ramped up the team's output.

Following New York's win over the Nets on Sunday, the team was the No. 2-ranked offense and had the league lead in made three-pointers per 100 possessions. 

They will look to keep it going on Wednesday against the Magic, where they'll look to go a perfect 8-0 at home this season. 

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Dwayne Aristode hits six 3-pointers as No. 5 Arizona rolls to 84-49 win over Northern Arizona

Dwayne Aristode scored 18 points on six 3-pointers, Jaden Bradley added 13 points and No. 5 Arizona routed Northern Arizona 84-49 on Tuesday night. The Wildcats (3-0) were sloppy at times offensively, particularly early, but locked down the Lumberjacks (1-2) to win their 36th straight game in the series. Arizona held Northern Arizona to 32% shooting, including 4 of 16 from 3-point distance, and scored 25 points off the Lumberjacks' 17 turnovers.

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Kansas freshman Darryn Peterson misses game with hamstring injury

Kansas freshman Darryn Peterson sat out Tuesday night's 77-46 rout of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi after hurting his hamstring in a shootaround earlier in the day, but coach Bill Self does not believe the injury will keep the potential NBA lottery pick out of the starting lineup for long. The No. 25 Jayhawks, who were coming off a loss at North Carolina, rolled even without Peterson, who many considered the No. 1 overall recruit coming out of high school. “I actually told the guys, ‘I’m excited to watch you play because (Peterson) is not going to be there,'” Self said.

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No. 18 Tar Heels adapt to Trimble-less lineup in win against Radford

North Carolina had almost no time to bask in the glow of last week's rousing win against fellow blueblood Kansas before taking a shot to the gut, coming in the form of senior Seth Trimble suffering a broken arm in a workout mishap. “This lineup change, it just happened a couple of days ago,” coach Hubert Davis said. It will take some time to adjust without Trimble, both from an experience standpoint with the 6-foot-3 guard in his fourth year with the program and the fact that he's the team's top perimeter defender.

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Nets drop third straight after 119-109 loss to Raptors

NEW YORK (AP) — Brandon Ingram scored 25 points to help the Toronto Raptors beat the Brooklyn Nets 119-109 on Tuesday night.

Immanuel Quickley had 24 points for Toronto, including 10 in the fourth quarter. Scottie Barnes finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Jakob Poetl had 12 points and 10 boards.

The Raptors won for the fifth time in six games. They shot 49.5 percent (45 for 91) from the field and outrebounded the Nets 50-36.

Nic Claxton and Michael Porter Jr. each had 21 points for Brooklyn, losers of 10 of its first 11 games to start the season. The Nets are winless in six games at home.

Playing its third game of a five-game trip, Toronto led 60-52 at halftime and increased its lead to 14 points early in the third quarter.

Brooklyn closed to 83-81 late in the third, but Toronto responded with three consecutive baskets, including a buzzer-beating floater from Jamal Shead.

Quickley’s three-pointer sparked a 7-0 run for the Raptors that made it 102-89 with 7:41 left.

Toronto has won in its last three visits to Barclays Center.

Up next

Raptors: Continue their trip at Cleveland on Thursday.

Nets: Visit Orlando on Friday.

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Knicks win fifth straight, stay unbeaten at home with 133-120 victory over Grizzlies

The Knicks led by 23 points at halftime, and as much by 28 points in the third quarter, holding on to beat the Memphis Grizzlies, 133-120, on Tuesday night.

New York has now won five straight games as the team improved to 7-0 at home to start the season. It's also the first time in franchise history they've scored 130-plus points in three straight contests.

Here are the takeaways...

-- Coming off a 40-point first quarter on Sunday against the Nets, the Knicks continued their stretch of fast starts against the Grizzlies. Memphis went up 5-0, but New York came storming back in what became a track meet at the Garden. OG Anunoby opened the scoring, and with Mitchell Robinson out, Landry Shamet stepped up with five of the team's first 11 points. Jalen Brunson then hit a three for his first points of the night and Ja Morant came right back with his first bucket on a floater.

Karl-Anthony Towns started to get going midway through the first quarter, blowing by Jock Landale for a two-handed slam to go up 18-15. Memphis continued to keep up, finding ways to score inside and tie the game at 30-30. 

-- Anunoby scored on a layup, Miles McBride came in and hit a three, and Anunoby got the crowd on their feet with a two-handed reverse dunk. The Knicks used that momentum and closed the quarter on a 12-0 run, as Josh Hart scored an and-one layup and Brunson hit a floater with 0.6 seconds left on the clock to put them up 42-30.

It's New York's second straight 40-point first quarter and seventh 40-point quarter of the season already.

-- The 12-0 run became a 19-0 run into the second quarter as Anunoby got another dunk, Towns scored quickly, and McBride made his second three-pointer. Jaren Jackson Jr. and Morant tried to stop the bleeding, but Towns made his first three-pointer to go up 52-35. Jordan Clarkson then heated up, scoring 10 straight of his own to pace the Knicks' second unit and build a 16-point lead, 63-47.

-- Memphis committed four turnovers in the first quarter, with three by Morant, and that trend became a real issue throughout the second. The Grizzlies turned it over eight more times in the second (12 total), allowing the Knicks to score in transition repeatedly (11 fast break points). Mikal Bridges' dunk put New York up 20 points with about a minute left in the first half, and then he connected with Hart for a three-pointer. Brunson hit a pull-up jumper with eight seconds left to make it a 77-54 game at the break.

New York won the second quarter, 35-24, as they shot 54.7 percent (29-for-53) from the field with 11 three-pointers (39.3 percent) in the first half. Brunson led the way for the starters with 14 points, while Towns and Bridges each had 10 points, Anunoby had nine, and Shamet had eight. Sandi Aldama was Memphis' leading scorer with 10 off the bench, with Jackson and Morant each scoring nine points.

-- Bridges scored on another Brunson assist, his ninth of the game already, to push the New York lead to 25 points with nine minutes remaining in the third quarter. Towns and Brunson hit back-to-back three pointers to keep the big lead, up 96-71 at the halfway mark, but the Grizzlies didn't give up. Vince Williams Jr. and Jaylen Wells each made three-pointers before Towns and Clarkson hit threes of their own, making it an 111-83 game.

Morant, Cam Spencer, and Williams made three straight threes to close the quarter for Memphis, but they allowed Bridges to hit a three with 13 seconds left to go up 114-93 at the end of the third quarter. Still, the Grizzlies won the third, 39-37.

-- The Grizzlies wouldn't go away and cut the Knicks' lead to 12 points on a Wells three-pointer, causing Mike Brown to call a timeout with 6:11 left in the game. The turnover problems resurfaced in the fourth as Williams threw the ball out of bounds, leading to a Brunson three on the other end to go up 129-116. It was Memphis' 22nd turnover of the game and New York's 33rd point off turnovers.

-- Towns scored 21 points with 13 rebounds, four assists, three steals, and two blocks in 31 minutes. Bridges had 22-7-4-4, while Anunoby put up 16 points on a tough shooting night (7 of 17, 1-for-10 from three). Morant finished with 16 points, 10 assists, and eight turnovers in the loss. Jackson and Aldama each scored 19 points, plus Wells had 18 points.

New York attempted a team record 55 three-pointers, making 22 of them. The franchise record for three-point makes in a game is 24 (Oct. 22, 2021 vs. Magic).

Game MVP: Jalen Brunson

Brunson finished with 32 points, including 6 of 9 from three, with 10 assists and five rebounds. He was a plus-20 in his 35 minutes.

Highlights

What's next

The Knicks will stay at home for a back-to-back on Wednesday night against the Orlando Magic at 7:00 p.m.

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Duke dominates Army 114-59 on Veterans Day at West Point

Dame Sarr had 19 points and Isaiah Evans added 16 points, and No. Duke beat Army 114-59 on Tuesday night. The Blue Devils played on Veterans Day at West Point in honor of former coach Mike Krzyzewski, who was a cadet there and basketball player under legendary coach Bobby Knight.

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No. 25 Kansas cruises without Peterson to 77-46 rout of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

Kohl Rosario scored 16 points to help make up for the absence of fellow freshman Darryn Peterson, and No. 25 Kansas bounced back from last week's loss to North Carolina with a 77-46 rout of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Tuesday night. Flory Bidunga added 12 points while Bryson Tiller and Tre White had 11 apiece for the Jayhawks (2-1), who held the Islanders (1-3) to 32% shooting while winning their 22nd consecutive nonconference home game. Peterson, the nation's No. 1 recruit, scored 21 points in his debut against Green Bay and 22 against the Tar Heels.

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2026 NBA All-Star Game: All the details on new three-team, USA vs. international players format

The timing could not be more perfect.

The NBA All-Star Game returns to NBC and Peacock in 2026 — right in the middle of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. There is no better time to set up a first-of-its-kind All-Star Game pitting the best of the USA vs. the NBA's deep international talent pool, a world team.

Now we have the details on exactly what that will look like when the games are played on Feb. 15, 2026, at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California (home to the Los Angeles Clippers).

  • The 24 All-Star players will be divided into three teams — two USA teams and one world team — that will compete in a round-robin tournament of four 12-minute games. Each of the three teams will have a minimum of eight players (getting to the 24 in a traditional All-Star format).
  • Selection of All-Star players will remain the way it has been for many years. Fans (along with NBA players and select media) will vote for the 10 starters, five from the Eastern Conference and five from the Western Conference. Following that, a vote of the coaches will select the seven reserves from each conference.
  • The one big difference: Votes — and the rosters — will be positionless. Fans will be able to vote for five guards (or, with the West these days, five centers) to start if they choose; they will no longer be locked into two backcourt and three frontcourt players. The same will be true of the coach selections for reserves. This simply fits better with the increasingly positionless style of the NBA game today.
  • If that selection process does not end up with 16 U.S. players and eight international players (including American players with ties to other countries, if necessary), then NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will select an additional player or players to join either group to reach that minimum. Which means some teams could have nine or more players.
  • How the players will be assigned to the two U.S. teams will be determined at a later date.
  • Once selected, those three teams will play in a classic round-robin format: Team A will play Team B in Game 1; the winning team from Game 1 will take on Team C in Game 2; followed by the losing team of Game 1 meeting Team C in Game 3.
  • From there, the top two teams by record advance to the finals, a fourth game. (Note: if all three teams have a 1-1 record after Game 3, the tiebreaker would be point differential.)

Bringing the energy

After the last handful of years, Silver and the NBA have been searching for ways to get more player buy-in — not to mention passion and energy — for the All-Star Game. The hope is that this format change will encourage players to bring the energy fans want to see.

"I would love that. Oh, I would love that," Giannis Antetokounmpo said at last season's All-Star Game about the idea of a USA vs. the World format. "I think that would be the most interesting and most exciting format. I would love that. For sure, I'd take pride in that."

"I would love to. My opinion is that it's more purposeful," Victor Wembanyama added about the idea at the time. "There's more pride in it. More stakes."

That eight-man World Team roster could be stacked: Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Victor Wembanyama, Alperen Sengun, Joel Embiid and Jamal Murray (not to mention Franz Wagner, Lauri Markkanen and more) could qualify for the international team.

Whoever ends up on the court, the pride of playing for one's country should inspire one of the best All-Star Games we have seen in a long time.

When is the 2026 NBA All-Star Game?

The NBA All-Star Game returns to the Los Angeles area this season, with the game being played on Feb. 15, 2026, at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, the new home of the Los Angeles Clippers, and will be broadcast on NBC Sports and Peacock. The All-Star Friday Night Rising Stars game (featuring NBA rookies and second-year players) as well as the All-Star Saturday Night events, including the Dunk Contest and 3-Point Contest, will also take place at the Intuit Dome. Fans will be able to watch all of it on NBC Sports and Peacock.

How to Watch the NBA on NBC and Peacock

Peacock NBA Monday will stream up to three Monday night games each week throughout the regular season. Coast 2 Coast Tuesday presents doubleheaders on Tuesday nights throughout the regular season on NBC and Peacock. On most Tuesdays, an 8 p.m. ET game will be on NBC stations in the Eastern and Central time zones, and an 8 p.m. PT game on NBC stations in the Pacific and often Mountain time zones. Check local listings each week. Both games will stream live nationwide on Peacock. NBC Sports will launch Sunday Night Basketball across NBC and Peacock on Feb. 1, 2026. For a full schedule of the NBA on NBC and Peacock, click here.