Knicks fall as Kristaps Porzingis sits late
Kristaps Porzingis #6 of the New York Knicks sits on the bench with his teammates during the final minutes against the Orlando Magic at Madison Square Garden on Monday, Dec. 21, 2015. Credit: Jim McIsaac
A winnable game was on the line and Kristaps Porzingis was on the bench when a familiar chant filled the Garden.
“POR-ZING-IS!” the crowd pleaded. But Derek Fisher wouldn’t oblige.
The rookie was having another bad shooting night, and Fisher stayed with Robin Lopez for defense and Lance Thomas, who played a perfect offensive game, making every shot he attempted.
The decision didn’t work, leaving Fisher open for second-guessing after the Magic snapped the Knicks’ winning streak at four games, 107-99, last night.
Lopez had no luck whatsoever guarding Nikola Vucevic. The Orlando center scored 26 points on 13-for-19 shooting. Vucevic shot 9-for-11 and scored 18 points in the second half.
“Matchups and the way the game was going,” Fisher said. “We liked physically Robin’s size more on Vucevic and Lance Thomas was playing well at the forward spot. So who do you take out? Those are tough calls to make.”
Porzingis left with 7:22 remaining in the fourth quarter and the Knicks down 85-83. When he returned with 1:07 to go, it was 104-94. With Carmelo Anthony limited in the fourth quarter after spraining his right ankle late in the third, the Knicks (14-15) could have used the 7-3 rookie.
Porzingis finished 3-for-12 with nine points, eight rebounds and four blocks. Fisher could have tried using him on defense to give Vucevic a different look, and he said he considered making a switch.
“You think about it,” Fisher said. “I don’t know if Kris is better in that situation in terms of guarding Vucevic one-on-one. The reality is if not for their record, this guy would have been an All-Star the last couple of years. Twenty-six is not 46 points.”
Porzingis admitted he needs to get stronger, but he would have tried to bother Vucevic with his length and activity.
“Robin is more of a guy who can hold him,” Porzingis said. “I’m more of a guy who can kind of dance around him and maybe get a steal here and there. That’s my game now because I’m not able to hold those guys yet.”
Thomas led the Knicks with 24 points off the bench. He shot 9-for-9 from the field, including 3-for-3 from three-point range, and 3-for-3 from the line.
Anthony had 23 points but only two in the fourth quarter after injuring his ankle. He hopes to play tomorrow night in Cleveland.
“It happened late in the third, so coming back into the fourth, I didn’t really try to kind of be aggressive,” Anthony said. “It was more of finding Lance out there because he had it going. If I could find him, he made shots, other guys made shots. So it was more being a facilitator than trying to be in attack mode at that point.”
Lopez had 12 points and eight rebounds. Hills West product Tobias Harris scored 20 points for the Magic (16-12).
Orlando shot 51.2 percent and led wire-to-wire. The Knicks cut a nine-point deficit to one three times in the fourth quarter but never could get over the hump.
The Knicks had an opportunity to tie the score early in the fourth quarter, but Porzingis missed a running bank shot with 8:01 left, leading to a transition layup by Victor Oladipo and an 85-81 Orlando advantage.
Thomas scored on a driving layup to bring the Knicks within 93-92 with 3:24 left, but Vucevic scored over Lopez on the next trip to put Orlando up by three. The Knicks never got any closer.
After a Knicks turnover, Evan Fournier (16 points) drove and scored to put the Knicks in a 97-92 hole with 2:27 remaining. Fournier drilled a wide-open three with 2:02 left that gave Orlando a 100-94 lead.
Vucevic put the finishing touches on the Knicks, scoring on a baby hook over Lopez to make it 102-94 with 1:22 left.
“Some of them were too easy,” Lopez said. “I let him get middle a few too many times. I don’t know if I offered enough resistance frequently enough. That’s all on me.”
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
