NEW YORK — At least they beat Kristaps Porzingis.
The return of the savior-turned-villain at Madison Square Garden turned into a nailbiter for the Knicks, who defeated Porzingis and the Wizards on Friday night, 100-97, continuing their too-little-too-late surge to end the season.
It ended with dramatics, as the Knicks nearly blew a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter. But Washington’s Kyle Kuzma missed his potential go-ahead trey with about five seconds remaining — and his teammate Kentavious Caldwell-Pope followed with another brick at the buzzer — and the game ended with a triumphant James Dolan shaking Porzingis’ hand after the home team’s victory.
Porzingis, who finished with 18 points in 29 minutes, was booed early and often but it was hardly the level of vitriol the Latvian encountered during his first return to MSG in 2019. The building was on fire back then, with the anger over Porzingis’ trade demand still fresh.
A lot has happened in the last three years. And neither side should feel good about their lottery-bound position.
In terms of consequence, Friday’s game was largely immaterial. Both teams are fighting for the 11th spot, or the first position out of the play-in tournament. They have outside chances at catching the Hawks or Hornets for No. 10, but they’re remote. It didn’t help that the Hawks beat the Grizzlies on Friday night, maintaining their five-game advantage over the Knicks (for the Hawks, it’s now 5 1/2 games ahead the Wizards).
So the night became mostly about the theatrics of Porzingis’ return, and another reason to relitigate the Knicks' biggest trade of the last decade.
Porzingis has been injury-prone since leaving the Knicks, and his defense — or lack thereof — has killed the projections of perennial All-Star. He was dealt from the Mavericks to the Wizards last month for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans, devolving, essentially, into a bad contract. He entered Friday averaging 19.3 points in 39 games with well-worn concerns about his defense and efficiency.
Still, he carries the allure of a 7-foot-3 sharpshooter with mobility. The idea of Porzingis as a Unicorn is still breathing, even if it’s on life support.
“His size and length are a little different when you see it up close and personal,” Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. said. “His skillset changes the spacial dimension for us offensively. His ability to pick-and-pop. He’s a better roller, finisher than I thought, better playmaker in the pocket. He’s shown the ability to play off the bounce, too, which is unique for a guy his size.
“I think we’re still trying to work him into a rhythm and build up that synergy with the other four guys on the floor, get him more comfortable with the offensive and defensively terminology. He’s been around long enough, it’s not really that new. We just call it something different, so it’s just getting up to speed.”
On the other side is Porzingis’ replacement at power forward with the Knicks, Julius Randle, who emerged as a star last season but regressed this campaign. He scored 18 points on 6-of-22 shooting. RJ Barrett also had 18 points on 6-of-22 shooting from the field.
