Boogie Cousins feels Knicks forward OG Anunoby should’ve done more to defend himself against Desmond Bane.
“I’m not saying punch him in the face, but maybe slap the sh*t out of him," Cousins said on @RunItBackFDTV.
During the fourth quarter of New York’s 106-100 victory over the Orlando Magic on Sunday at Madison Square Garden, Anunoby was driving toward the basket on a fast-break when Orlando’s Anthony Black made an athletic block at the rim.
The ball was live and Bane then grabbed the loose ball and threw it off Anunoby like he was playing a game of lunch time dodge ball. An agitated Anunoby then shoved Bane in response.
“You see it all the time, players throwing it off [opposing players],” Hall of Famer Mike Breen said on air. “Normally it’s kind of like you’re off balance, but he wound up like he’s Nolan Ryan.”
“And he didn’t have to,” Walt “Clyde” Frazier added. “He had possession.”
The NBA on Monday fined Bane $35,000 for the incident for which he received a technical foul.
The Knicks (16-7) have won three in a row and are 13-1 at home, their best home start since the 1992-93 season.
They visit the Toronto Raptors Tuesday night in an NBA Cup quarterfinal game and will be without injured guard Deuce McBride.