PORZINGIS’ KNEE OK, MAY PLAY VS. THUNDER
It looks like there will be a Merry Kristaps after all.
Breathe a sigh of relief, Knicks fans. After Friday’s exams, Kristaps Porzingis does not appear to have serious damage to his ACL and the club announced he is “day to day” with a “sore left knee.”
Porzingis is listed as questionable for Carmelo Anthony’s Garden return with the Thunder on Saturday, though it would seem unlikely he is back that soon if this was any other game. That it will be such a special night could sway things. According to a source, it all depends if Porzingis shows more improvement when he awakens Saturday morning.
Porzingis should be 100 percent by Christmas Day, when the Knicks play their showcase game against the up-and-coming 76ers.
The Knicks’ 7-foot-3 star pulled himself out of Thursday’s game in Brooklyn early in the third quarter because of knee pain. It was alarming because it appeared the incident was a sudden non-contact injury commonly associated with torn ACLs. However, Porzingis said afterward he initially injured the knee in the first quarter when it “buckled” as he made a sharp pass out of a double team to Courtney Lee for a corner 3-pointer.
Porzingis played in pain until three minutes into the second half after he was unable to launch on a block attempt against Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.
In the locker room afterward, Porzingis said he believed he was not seriously hurt because he didn’t feel severe plain and was standing.
“I kept playing, so it shouldn’t be anything bad,’’ he predicted.
Porzingis already has missed four games due to injury this season, or five if you count the two minutes he played against Miami when he suffered an ankle sprain that cost him two games. He also played only one full game of the five-contest preseason schedule, because of a sore hip.
In his first two seasons, Porzingis missed 26 games. Across his three seasons, Porzingis has had nagging injuries from head to toe, including his back, elbow, shoulder and Achilles.