Kristaps Porzingis leaves game with sore knee, will be examined Friday

NEW YORK -- A left knee injury might sideline New York Knicks star Kristaps Porzingis for Saturday's home game against Carmelo Anthony and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Porzingis says he doesn't believe the knee injury is serious but added that he wouldn't know anything definitive until undergoing further testing Friday.

"I felt my knee buckle a little bit, and I felt a little pain there. So it's more about being cautious," Porzingis said. "I had a little shock pain there, and that's it. I honestly don't have any information about what's going on there, but hopefully it's not too serious."

Porzingis initially twisted his left knee in the first half when he received the ball in the post. He played through some discomfort later in the half but said he felt instability in the knee in the third quarter, so he removed himself from the game.

"I just ran up and down a few times, and I felt it wasn't right," he said. "... I felt that I don't have the strength that I want to have. It just didn't feel right."

Porzingis did not return to the game. The team called the injury a sore left knee. It is unclear if Porzingis will have X-rays or an MRI on Friday to further determine the extent of the injury.

"[Team doctors] may look at it and say it's a bump and nothing," coach Jeff Hornacek said. "I don't know."

If Porzingis is out for extended time, it would leave a significant void for New York. The 22-year-old entered play Thursday averaging 26 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.2 blocks and was a key reason New York was one game over .500 entering the game against Brooklyn. The Knicks, who beat Brooklyn 111-104 to improve to 15-13, are already without starting shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr., who is out indefinitely because of a stress injury in his lower left leg.

It would be difficult for the Knicks to stay afloat without both Hardaway Jr. and Porzingis, though indications late Thursday night were that Porzingis wouldn't miss significant time with the current ailment. He was standing during his postgame interview, which he took as an indication that the injury was not overly significant.

"I should have some bad pain right now, but I'm not," said Porzingis, who missed two games earlier this season because of a right ankle sprain. "....It's just them being cautious. [Friday], we'll find out more."