OG Anunoby along with his New York Knicks colleagues were able to unwind on Tuesday, following the arrival of the forward coinciding with his new team’s most thorough effort in weeks.

The Chicago Bulls will not have any opportunity to brood over their disastrous first half in a lopsided defeat on Tuesday.

The Knicks endeavor to chain together successive triumphs and the Bulls strive to round off a back-to-back fixture in triumphant fashion on Wednesday night, as New York plays host to Chicago in a face-off of long-standing rivals.

After thwarting a fourth-quarter resurgence effort by the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves in a 112-106 decision on Monday afternoon, the Knicks enjoyed a day off on Tuesday. The Bulls concluded a home-and-home series with the Philadelphia 76ers by succumbing on the road on Tuesday, 110-97.

Julius Randle shone for the Knicks on Monday, scoring 12 of his game-leading 39 points in the final six minutes as New York fended off Minnesota’s rally from a 22-point, third-quarter deficit.

Furthermore, Anunoby showcased himself as a greatly-needed resource two days after being obtained by the Knicks in a high-profile trade that sent RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley to the Toronto Raptors.

Anunoby nailed 3-of-6 from 3-point range and concluded with 17 points. The 6-foot-7 forward also amassed six rebounds and two steals while dividing his time on defense between covering 6-foot-4 Anthony Edwards and the 7-footer Karl-Anthony Towns.

“Phenomenal,” Randle expressed. “Seems like the ideal component that complements our team very effectively. He executes a lot of timely actions out there, and it was pivotal for us to secure that victory.”

The outcome halted a three-game losing skid for the Knicks, who are 6-8 since Dec. 5, during which they managed consecutive victories only once (Dec. 18-20) and conceded fewer than 110 points on only three occasions.

“I believed the first game he was remarkable — truly, simply being prepared and to figure it out on the go,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau remarked. “Played intelligently, played off people well, executed fantastic defense, hustled, moved without the ball, took good shots, made good plays.”

The Bulls were on the unfavorable side of good plays on Tuesday, when Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid piled up 31 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists in just 31 minutes. The 76ers surged to a 43-18 lead after one quarter and led 73-42 at the half.

The Bulls misfired on their initial 13 3-point attempts and didn’t connect from deep until more than midway through the second quarter. Chicago shot a season-low 18.9 percent (7-for-37, 18.9 percent) from beyond the arc.

“I thought we generated good looks, I thought we got into the teeth of the defense, I thought we spread it out and got really good open corner threes,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan voiced. “We just didn’t make any. But it can’t impact the other end of the floor.”

The Bulls fell to 10-7 this season without star guard Zach LaVine, who hasn’t played since Nov. 28 due to a right foot injury. LaVine might return within a week, Donovan announced on Tuesday.

Chicago has crafted winning streaks of four games and three games without LaVine but has endured three double-digit defeats in its past five games dating back to Dec. 23.

“We have to move forward from this, just with a game (Wednesday),” Donovan expressed.