OG Anunoby is Jalen Brunson’s closing partner in crime for Knicks

Jalen Brunson is the reigning NBA Clutch Player of the Year and the Knicks closer offensively down the stretch of games, a significant reason they have won so many games in crunch time recently.

But OG Anunoby is their closer on the defensive end.

He was coach Mike Brown’s defensive player of the game for the Knicks’ 130-125 win over the Pelicans Monday night in New Orleans.

It was the sixth time Anunoby has gotten the recognition — the most on the team despite Anunoby having missed 10 games this season.

He spent the vast majority of the game matched up with Zion Williamson defensively.

Though Williamson went off for 32 points, Anunoby largely got the better of him in the fourth quarter, when the Knicks outscored the Pelicans by 12 points and turned a potential loss into a win.

Trailing by three with 9:27 left in the game, Anunoby stole the ball from Williamson, keeping it a one-possession game.

Just 12 of Williamson’s 32 points came with Anunoby defending him, per NBA.com’s tracking stats.

Anunoby also forced two turnovers on Williamson.

“He’s an amazing player, one of the toughest covers in the league, downhill,” Anunoby said. “He’s really an incredible player, so it was really cool. Just taking the challenge, being more physical [in the fourth quarter].”

Then with the game tied with 7:50 left, Anunoby anticipated a pass from Jeremiah Fears and maneuvered around Derik Queen to steal the ball and win the Knicks an extra possession, which turned into a Karl-Anthony Towns 3-pointer to give them a three-point lead.

Overall, he finished with 23 points, 11 rebounds, three steals and a block.

He was a team-best plus-16.

And it was his driving dunk with 1:48 left, with the Knicks trailing by one, that re-established a one-point lead the Knicks never relinquished.

Tuesday was the two-year anniversary of the trade that brought Anunoby to the Knicks.

If Brunson is Captain Clutch, it has become clear that Anunoby is his partner in crime.

“Our defensive player of the game, just put his footprint on both ends, another All-Star is OG Anunoby,” Brown said. “I don’t know who can guard OG on a close out. If you’re closing out on him, it’s a wrap if he wants it to be a wrap. You can be big, you can be small. You’ve got to get all the way to his body because he’ll knock down the three. If you don’t get back to his body, he’s so quick and so strong he’s going right through your inner thigh. Offensively he was huge for us. He was huge offensively, huge on the glass. But just as importantly he was our defensive player of the game.”

Brown campaigns on a nightly basis for Anunoby to earn his first All-Star appearance.

His worthiness depends on what one values.

His overall offensive numbers don’t scream All-Star, representing more of a role player — he is averaging 15.5 points and 2.0 assists per game.

His efficiency has waned a bit recently, though he is still shooting 36.4 percent from 3-point range.

But his overall impact is undeniable.

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With Anunoby on the court, the Knicks give up 111.3 points per 100 possessions — that is 8.6 points less than when Anunoby is off the court, according to Cleaning the Glass.

Overall, the Knicks have outscored opponents by 12.7 points per 100 possessions with Anunoby on the court — 10.6 points better than when he is off the court.

That puts him in the 93rd percentile across the NBA.

For context, the Knicks have outscored opponents by 7.2 points per 100 possessions with Brunson on the floor, 9.4 points with Karl-Anthony Towns on the floor and 8.7 points with Mikal Bridges on the floor.

The first returns for All-Star voting have Anunoby 13th in the East from fan voting.

The top five — regardless of position — vote-getters between fans, media and players in each conference are starters, while seven reserves are picked by coaches.

Those 24 players are broken into three teams.

For the second straight year, there will be three teams of eight players — two American teams and one international team — for a round-robin tournament.

If selection does not neatly result in 16 U.S. players and eight international players, commissioner Adam Silver will select additional players to help either group.

That could benefit Anunoby, who was born in England and competed for the World Team during the 2019 Rising Stars Challenge.

“If fans watch the game, beyond the boxscore and notice the little things,” Anunoby said recently about why he should be an All-Star. “And then, like, the two-way impact.”

That two-way impact puts Anunoby in elite territory.

Will he finally be recognized as such?