AfriPulse
Ogugua Anunoby In Action For The New York Knicks.
Nigerian-born Ogugua Anunoby made five 3-pointers, and scored 28 points to lead the New York Knicks to a 124-113 win over San Antonio Spurs to win the NBA Cup.
NBA Cup MVP Jalen Brunson recorded 25 points and eight assists as the Knicks won their sixth straight game and 10th in their past 11 — though the tournament final doesn’t count toward the regular-season standings and stats.
The Knicks overcame an 11-point third-quarter deficit.
New York’s Karl-Anthony Towns had 16 points and 11 rebounds despite missing 12-plus minutes due to a left calf issue.
Jordan Clarkson scored 15 points and fellow reserve Mitchell Robinson grabbed 15 rebounds (10 on the offensive glass) for the Knicks.
San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama scored 18 points off the bench while being limited to 25 minutes in his second contest after missing 12 straight games due to a calf injury.
Dylan Harper scored a team-high 21 points off the bench for the Spurs, who unofficially lost for just the fourth time in the past 14 games. San Antonio made just 5 of 19 shots (26.3%) in the fourth quarter while being outscored 35-19.
De’Aaron Fox had 16 points and nine assists, Stephon Castle registered 15 points and 12 assists and Luke Kornet added 14 points for the Spurs.
New York shot 46.7% from the field, including 15 of 40 (37.5%) from 3-point range.
The Spurs made 41.4% of their field-goal attempts and hit 14 of 39 (35.9%) from behind the arc.
The Knicks scored the first eight points and 11 of 12 to start the fourth quarter to turn a five-point deficit into a 100-95 lead. Clarkson hit two 3-pointers and Anunoby sank one during the spurt.
Towns returned to the floor with 4:49 left — the same time Wembanyama subbed back in — with New York again leading by five.
Nearly two minutes later, Josh Hart drained a 3-pointer to give the Knicks a 115-107 advantage.
After Harper nailed a 3-pointer with 2:42 left, Anunoby swished a trey from the corner to put New York back ahead by eight with 1:56 to play.
Tyler Kolek later scored four straight points as the Knicks pushed the lead to 12 while closing it out.
Fox hit a jumper with 7.1 seconds left in the first half to give the Spurs a 61-59 lead at the break.
Devin Vassell scored 12 first-half points to lead San Antonio. Anunoby scored 20 points and Brunson had 15 in the half for the Knicks.
Wembanyama poured in 12 points in the third quarter to help the Spurs lead by as many as 11 points in the period.
Ogugua Anunoby was born in London, England, to Nigerian parents of Igbo descent. His father, Ogugua Sr. taught as a professor in England at the time. His mother, Grace Ndidi Okereke, was a track and field athlete who competed at a national level for Nigeria and died of cancer when Anunoby was one year old.
Anunoby, who represents the British team, was selected with the 23rd overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft by the Toronto Raptors.
Source: TheWhistler | Read the Full Story…
