CHARLOTTE, N.C. — OG Anunoby was a late scratch from Monday’s game with an inflamed right elbow, an injury he aggravated up during the pregame warmups, the Knicks said.
The power forward, a defensive revelation since his acquisition last month and a key part of New York’s six-game winning streak heading into Monday, had been wearing black kinesio tape around that shooting elbow in previous appearances.
With Anunoby and Julius Randle (dislocated right shoulder) out in Charlotte, the Knicks elevated Josh Hart and Precious Achiuwa into the starting lineup.
The other starters were the regulars — Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo and Isaiah Hartenstein.
Anunoby, who averaged 15.6 points on 52 percent shooting in 14 contests with the Knicks, hadn’t missed a game since being acquired from the Raptors.
He has dealt with multiple injuries in his career and hadn’t played at least 70 games in a season since his rookie campaign in 2017-18.
DiVincenzo, the starting shooting guard, said the Knicks don’t have to abandon their physical identity or game plan without two key components.
“We don’t have guys who are soft guys that are fancy and all that stuff. Everybody is a hard-nosed dude,” DiVincenzo said. “Tries to attack the rim. If they don’t have it, try to kick it out, if you’re open, shoot the ball. So I don’t think you change your identity at all. I think the main thing is it needs to be a collective effort. There shouldn’t be pressure on one person to step in for Julius and have 25 and 10 a night.
“It’s not fair to them, it’s not fair to our team. But I think collectively we have more than enough on the team to get through this stretch whenever he comes back.”