Kristaps Porzingis had his heart broken the last time he faced the Charlotte Hornets when he hit a game-winning 3-pointer that came a fraction of a second too late.
On Tuesday night in a rematch against the Hornets- at the Madison Square Garden this time – the prized rookie made sure there would be no last-second finishes this time around. Porzingis was phenomenal, scoring 29 points on 10-of-17 from the field, including two-of-two from the arc, to go with 11 rebounds and a blocked shot to help the New York Knicks beat the Hornets 102-94. It was a much-needed performance with Carmelo Anthony struggling with his shot (6-of-18 from the field).
Porzingis had already been playing much-better than most had expected in his first year in the league. In fact, plenty thought that the big man would turn out to be a project for the first couple of years, as stated by the rookie himself:
Porzingis: “Everyone was saying I was a project. Im going to get better [with time], but I’m ready to play right now.”
— Chris Herring (@HerringWSJ) November 18, 2015
Clearly, he is ready to contribute immediately in a big way. Fellow rookie big man Myles Turner was happy to see Porzingis’ redemption after seeing firsthand how Knicks fans treated him on draft night:
I’m so happy to see my boy @kporzee out here killin after getting booed like that on Draft night #silenceheem
— Myles Turner (@Original_Turner) November 18, 2015
Jim Park is a blogger and Tweet of the Night author of Sheridan Hoops. Follow him on twitter @SheridanBlog.