Knicks' Porzingis seeks new heights vs. Hornets
NEW YORK -- With one Eastern Conference player of the week honor secured, Kristaps Porzingis and the New York Knicks are wondering how high they can go.
The up-and-down Charlotte Hornets, who head to Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night showdown with the Knicks, are just trying to figure out which direction they are heading.
New York (5-4) has won five of six for the first time since early last season, with Porzingis spearheading the effort. Porzingis had games of 38 points (a career high), 37 and 40 (a new career high), all in the span of one week.
His first conference player of the week award, given to him on Monday, is a testament to the role he has taken since Carmelo Anthony was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder days before training camp began in September.
The 7-foot-3 forward's last performance, a 40-point, eight-rebound, six-block effort in a 108-101 comeback win over Indiana on Sunday shows how far he can take the Knicks, who trailed the Pacers by 19 at one point. The talk in the locker room after the game was about how much potential the team really does have behind its third-year star.
"Since the moment he got here, he seemed like he was ready for the moment," said New York point guard Jarrett Jack, whose insertion into the starting lineup has spurred the team to wins in five of six games following an 0-3 start. "He put himself in a position as far as physically to be able to handle this.
"He already possesses naturally a bunch of skills you can't teach. He's shooting the ball tremendously right now. He's been paying dividends."
Porzingis scored 23 of his points in the second half and 17 in the fourth quarter, doing things befitting a team's No. 1 option.
"I'm seeing a different type of defense almost every night," Porzingis said. "No matter who I'm playing against, they're trying to be physical with me. I'm just trying to make the right decision, whether it's me being aggressive, attacking or passing the ball. Just trying to play my game and staying calm mentally."
If the Knicks are building an identity around their star big man, the Hornets are just trying to discover theirs.
Charlotte (5-5) has lost two straight, including a 112-94 road defeat to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday, after winning three straight following an uneven 2/3 start.
Just when the Hornets thought their offense was coming around -- the team averaged nearly 117 points during the brief win streak -- they scored 195 points the last two games as star guard Kemba Walker shot a combined 8 of 27.
Hornets coach Steve Clifford knows it will be a challenge to stop the surging Knicks. That effort will be without Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who remains out with a personal matter.
"They're playing well," Clifford said of the Knicks at practice on Monday. "They have a lot of guys who are playing very well offensively, and obviously Porzingis is a handful. It will take a great effort."
The game will be a matchup of contrasting strengths, as the backcourt-led Hornets, who feature smooth Walker and Jeremy Lamb plus improving rookie Malik Monk off the bench, face the Porzingis-and-Enes Kanter-led Knicks.
Kanter has developed into a defensive and rebounding force for the Knicks, taking defensive pressure off Porzingis while averaging 11.3 rebounds per game. Kanter had 18 boards in the win over the Pacers.
"Sometimes we think Enes is down there padding his stats on the offensive end," Knicks forward Tim Hardaway Jr. said. "He's definitely a workhorse, man. He takes care of his body, each and every day. He's made for this. You can see that he just has a knack for that basketball. We need him to continue to do that."
