OG and Knicks Stay Perfect
Photo: Special to the Daily News
By Samori Benjamin
An old friend brought his team to Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night and the Knicks made quick work of them the way they have handled everyone else since the turn of the New Year. New York beat the Portland Trailblazers 112-84, moving their record to 5-0 in 2024. They are also 5-0 since the trade to get OG Anunoby, and he had a game high 23 points on a very efficient 9 of 12 from the field including going 4-6 from three point range.
Knicks center Isaiah Hartenstein had another monster game on the boards in the starting lineup grabbing 14. “Getting OG on both sides I think has been great for us,”Hartenstein said after the win. “The ball has been moving a lot better and then defensively I think he’s been doing a great job of playing team defense and he makes my job a lot easier, so having him has been great.”
This is Portland’s first season without their longtime All NBA franchise player Damian Lilliard. Their Head Coach Chauncey Billups played 21 games with the Knicks in 2011 after being traded to them along with Carmelo Anthony at the trade deadline. In his third season as Blazers Head Coach he has a record of 70-130. Jerami Grant, son of Harvey Grant, nephew of Horace Grant and brother of former Knick Jerian Grant, led Portland with 21 points and their leading scorer, guard Anfernee Simons, named after Anfernee Hardaway, finished with 12 points on 4-14 shooting.
