KP gives Knicks hope: I’ll be back ‘stronger’

It wasn’t nearly as emotional or as memorable as Willis Reed famously limping out of the tunnel, but when Kristaps Porzingis suddenly appeared at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday that simple, singular act certainly represented hope and optimism. And the Knicks haven’t had much of either this season. “I believe,” Porzingis said, “that I’m going to come back better and stronger.” Porzingis returned to the Garden for the first time since suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee exactly four weeks earlier. Porzingis, who had surgery on Feb. 13, appears to have gained a few pounds, which is actually a good sign. He also walks without a limp, which is also encouraging. “We don’t want to force anything,” he said during his first public comments since the injury. “We’re going day by day of how I’m feeling. Like I said every day we’re adding some more stuff I can do; more mobility, more this and that. Just going day by day really.”

Porzingis refused to give a timetable for his return. He is said to be ahead of schedule in his rehab but doctors believe that the odds of a re-injury are highest if the player returns at nine months. A more realistic timetable would be some time in January, which would be roughly 11 months post-surgery.

“I can’t give you anything,” Porzingis said when asked for a return date. “I have no idea. You should ask the doctor maybe. And he would tell you something. And myself, I’m just going day by day really and we’ll see where the comeback is at.”

Porzingis collapsed and grabbed his knee after dunking over fellow All Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo during a Feb. 6 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. He was able to walk to the locker