Knicks’ OG Anunoby active for Game 1 of Eastern Conference Finals after hamstring strain

OG Anunoby got the OK. The Knicks forward returned to the starting lineup for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers after missing the final two games of the previous round with a right hamstring strain. Anunoby began the day listed as probable, but he was not cleared for Tuesday night’s game at Madison Square Garden until he went through pregame warm-ups. The 28-year-old tweaked his right hamstring late in the fourth quarter of the Knicks’ Game 2 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on May 6 and did not return. He was listed as questionable going into Games 3 and 4 of that second-round series but ultimately did not play in either as the Knicks wrapped up a low-stress sweep. “Rest vs. Rust” debates raged going into the conference finals after the Knicks went nine games between their series-clinching Game 4 win in Philadelphia and Tuesday night’s Eastern Conference Finals opener. But Anunoby was a clear beneficiary, as he ultimately went 13 days between game action thanks in large part to the lay-off. Anunoby returned to practice last Wednesday and resumed full participation later in the week. Anunoby has a history of leg injuries, including a left hamstring strain that cost him four games in the 2024 playoffs, as well as a strain to that same left hamstring in November that caused him to miss nine games. “It wasn’t like the previous ones, for sure,” Anunoby said over the weekend. “So, it was better than before.” Anunoby entered Tuesday averaging 21.4 points and 7.5 rebounds per game in the playoffs while shooting 61.9% from the field, including 53.8% on 3-pointers.