Knicks clamp down on 76ers to avenge loss with rout in OG Anunoby’s return

OG Anunoby helped transform the Knicks into one of the top defensive teams in the NBA in January, and a third straight stifling team-wide performance in his return to the lineup following an 18-game absence helped Tom Thibodeau’s squad secure a much-needed bounce-back victory.

With Anunoby starting for the first time since going down in late January with an elbow injury that required cleanup surgery, the Knicks avenged their ugly loss to the 76ers two nights earlier by crushing the same divisional rival, 106-79, Tuesday night to late chants of “Philly sucks” at the Garden.

Anunoby netted 14 points and was a plus-28 over 29 minutes in his first appearance since Jan. 27, as the Knicks (38-27 overall) improved to 13-2 with him in the lineup this season following a late-December acquisition from the Raptors.

“Everything felt good. Excited to be back out there. It was fun,” said Anunoby, who received standing ovations during pregame warm-ups and again when he checked out of the game for the final time in the fourth quarter. “It felt great. It’s been a while. Missed playing here, missed the fans, missed my teammates. So it was a great feeling for sure.”

Anunoby replaced Precious Achiuwa in the starting lineup, and backup center Jericho Sims was dropped for now from the rotation.

Josh Hart remained in the starting five and recorded his fourth triple-double of the season with 20 points, a career-high tying 19 rebounds and 10 assists in 39 minutes.