Knicks doomed with no Kristaps, Tim
JEFF Hornacek navigated his way out of a 0-3 start and now the Knicks head coach is dealing with the second minicrisis of the Knicks’ season.
The news before and after the Knicks’ 105-100 loss to the Orlando Magic on Sunday at the Garden was ominous to say the least. Neither Kristaps Porzingis nor Tim Hardaway Jr., who average a combined 43.6 points, was available on Sunday and neither traveled to Indiana for tonight’s game against the Pacers.
Porzingis is sidelined with a sprained right ankle and dealing with an illness while Hardaway Jr. is suffering from a “stress injury to the lower left leg” according to the team.
“Yeah, it was tough,” Jarrett Jack said after the Knicks fell to 11-11. “We didn’t know anything about (Hardaway Jr.) until literally five minutes before tip-off. We came in and heard what happened. We didn’t even know he had an injury or a lingering issue at all. It’s tough, man.
“Somebody who has worked tremendously hard like Tim does, passionate about this team, passionate about the game, for him to have to miss some time, it’s tough. We’re going to rally around him and collectively try to fill that void.”
The hope is that Porzingis will be available for Wednesday’s home game against Memphis, which would give his ankle a full week to recover. Hardaway’s status is unclear and the Knicks didn’t provide many answers as to what caused the injury or how long it could sideline the veteran shooting guard.
Hardaway Jr. had been bothered by plantar fasciitis in his left foot but that appears to be unrelated to his most recent injury.
“It’s in his shin,” Hornacek said. “He had soreness the last few days. The doctors evaluated him before the game. They said that he couldn’t go. I guess they did some tests and they’ll continue to look at him.”
When Hornacek was asked if he arrived for work expecting Hardaway to play he said, “Oh yeah. Tim’s (had) a little bumps and bruises all year but he plays through it. They told us right before the game that he’s not going to be able to go. We had to change plans.”
Neither Porzingis nor Hardaway was available to speak with the media. The absence of the Knicks’ two leading scorers forced Hornacek to get creative with his lineup with mixed results. Rookie Damyean Dotson made his first career start and scored two points in 22 minutes. The Knicks were a minus-16 with Dotson on the court.
Michael Beasley started in place of Porzingis just as he did on two previous occasions. Beasley finished with 21 points on 19 shots as the Knicks fell to 0-3 without Porzingis this season.
The Knicks overcame a 17-point firsthalf deficit and were even with Orlando with six minutes left. But Nikola Vucevic, who had his way with Enes Kanter, scored eight straight points and the Magic extended its lead to 97-87 with 3:15 left.
“When someone is down we cannot show any weakness,” Kanter said. “I am going to pray for Tim and pray for KP.”
Kanter needed divine intervention on the defensive end. He finished with 18 points and 16 rebounds but he struggled against Vucevic, who scored 12 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter and made 13 of 19 shots. All five Orlando starters scored in double figures, including Evan Fournier, who scored 20 points and was 4-for-4 from the foul line in the last 23.7 seconds. The win was Orlando’s second in its last 12 games.
The Magic has beaten the Knicks twice this season and has yet to face Porzingis, who missed his third game on Sunday. It was the Knicks’ first game since Porzingis was hurt in the opening minutes of Wednesday’s victory over Miami, when Porzingis twisted his ankle pursuing a loose ball. X-rays taken at the arena were negative and the following day an MRI failed to detect any significant ligament damage.
On Sunday, Hornacek used 11 players including Ron Baker and Ramon Sessions. The two left on the bench were Willy Hernangomez and Joakim Noah. The omission of Hernangomez is baffling, but this has been going on all season. As for Noah, it says plenty about his future with the club.
The lineup generated enough offense. What it didn’t provide, much to Hornacek’s dismay, was free throws. Orlando attempted 29 free throws compared to just 10 for the Knicks.
“We didn’t get to the free-throw line and we’re the home team,” Hornacek said. “They had 11 fouls we had 24. That’s the difference in the game.” THE KNICKS were shorthanded and Jeff Hornacek believes they were also shortchanged.
The Knicks head coach complained about the free throw disparity following Sunday’s 105-100 loss to the Magic. The Knicks attempted 10 free throws, including just four among the starters. Orlando attempted 29 free throws although the last six came in the final 23.7 seconds with the Knicks intentionally fouling.
Hornacek can be very demonstrative on the sidelines over non-calls but he rarely if ever addresses the officiating after the game. He was visibly upset after Michael Beasley was called for an offensive foul with 7:52 remaining and the Knicks trailing 82-81.
“Yeah we were taking the ball to the basket,” Hornacek said. “Enes (Kanter) was in there getting shots. Michael Beasley’s driving to the basket. What’d they shoot? Michael Beasley zero free throws. Enes Kanter two. Guys were taking it in there. That charge was clearly the guy sliding underneath him when Mike’s already up in the air.
“That’s the way it goes.” — Isola