Britain's Anunoby helps new NBA club upset high-flying T-Wolves

NEW YORK: British forward OG Anunoby sparkled in his first NBA game for the New York Knicks, helping his new club upset Western Conference leader Minnesota 112-106 on Monday (Jan 1).

New York's Julius Randle scored a game-high 39 points while Anunoby added 17 points and six rebounds only hours after arriving from Toronto in a Saturday trade.

The 26-year-old London-born defensive standout, who won an NBA crown with the Raptors in 2019 and led the league in steals last season, was learning about his new team on the fly after more than six seasons in Toronto.

"Even during the game, they were telling me, 'Go here. Do this'," Anunoby said. "They were helping me out for sure, a lot of them, and I'm thankful for it.

"Everything really. New terminology. Just trying to figure everything out best I can, so a lot of read-and-react today.

"Each day I'm going to get better at everything, learning the plays, learning the terminology, learning the steps. I'll learn every day."

Anunoby's strong showing after arriving at a hotel and getting his physical Sunday night impressed Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau.

"I thought, first game, impressive, just to be ready and kind of figure it out on the fly," Thibodeau said.

"Played smart, played off people well, played great defense, hustled, moved without the ball, shot good shots, made good plays, so very good start."

Thibodeau tried his best to keep things simple on the veteran playmaker, who has career averages of 11.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.2 steals a game.

"You don't want him overthinking things," Thibodeau said. "Just give him a basic framework and we can add day by day. If you get lost just play."

Anthony Edwards scored 35 points to pace the Timberwolves, who fell to 24-8.

Indiana guard