Big men rested with back issues
HOUSTON — On the second night of a back-toback, Kristaps Porzingis rested.
With Enes Kanter still out with back spasms, the Knicks held Porzingis out of Saturday’s 117-102 loss to the Rockets — also claiming back issues.
Porzingis said he had tightness in his lower back along with some spasms. It’s the second time Porzingis has sat out the second leg of a back-to-back this season, the first being in Orlando on Nov. 8 with elbow issues. Teams aren’t allowed to sit players for “rest’’ any longer, but it seems the Knicks are trying to shield Porzingis from playing all back-tobacks.
“I didn’t feel it much during the [Atlanta] game [Friday],’’ Porzingis said. “After the game, once I cooled down, that’s when I really was feeling tightness in my back and knew it wasn’t getting better but worse. [After] the flight, I woke up this morning, sleeping in a different bed, it didn’t help. It just got tighter. ”
Porzingis warmed up before the Rockets game and admitted to feeling much looser but this wasn’t a night to force it in what appeared to be an unwinnable game without Kanter. The Knicks appear to have made a calculated decision of not making the Rockets’ game a priority.
“I want to play as many games as I can, but with something like this, it’s better for me to be healthy than push through this game and not have a bad game,’’ Porzingis said. “Nobody’s going to appreciate that.’’
Porzingis visits Houston just once a year, but the Rockets have enough excitement watching the Chris Paul-James Harden duo wreak havoc.
“Our guys are still going to play their hearts out,’’ Porzingis said.
Kanter missed his second straight game with back spasms and it could last into Monday’s home game versus Portland. Kanter didn’t see much improvement and was having trouble walking. He’s undergone acupuncture treatment.
For the second straight night, center Joakim Noah would have been asked to dress for the first time, but couldn’t because he didn’t make the trip due to the flu and Hornacek said it’s difficult to play traditional centers against the smallball Rockets. The Knicks considered flying him in, but he wasn’t well enough.