PORTLAND, Ore. — An easy Knicks victory and a Jalen Brunson masterpiece was clouded by the sight of OG Anunoby feeling clear discomfort in his surgically repaired elbow.
The team’s defensive stalwart appeared to aggravate his right elbow in the second quarter of Thursday’s 105-93 victory over the shorthanded Blazers, unable to hide his irritation while logging 36 minutes.
In that way, the night was a microcosm of the season.
Brunson was spectacular while scoring 45 points, hitting 14 of his 30 field goals.
The Knicks beat up on a bad team, improving to 24-3 against opponents under .500.
They won their second straight and remained fourth in the East, a full game ahead of the No. 5 Magic.
But once again, there’s concern about the health of one of their most important players.
To be clear, the Knicks never confirmed that Anunoby suffered an injury during the game, and he never went to the locker room.
He finished with 12 points and there were encouraging signs that this was nothing more than a tweak.
But there was a surgery a little bit more than a month ago.
And then there was an incident at the Moda Center.
With 3:35 left in the second quarter, Anunoby reached to strip Portland’s DeAndre Ayton.
The steal was successful, but Anunoby quickly grabbed his elbow and audibly expressed pain.
He pivoted to the sideline holding his elbow and was subbed out eight seconds later after a foul.
Anunoby was attended by a trainer on the bench and had his elbow wrapped.
The 26-year-old, a free agent this summer, sat the remainder of the first half and returned to play after the break.
He clearly felt discomfort, however, while fidgeting and bending his elbow intermittently on the court.
The fact that he kept playing — logging 9 ½ straight minutes to start the second half — was probably a good sign, especially that it included two of his dunks.
But he then returned to the bench for more treatment, a discussion with a training staffer, and more wrapping on his elbow.
He played 10 1/2 minutes in the fourth quarter, watching Brunson punish Portland with 24 points in the second half.
