Kristaps Porzingis ineffective again as Knicks lose to Heat in overtime
New York Knicks' Kristaps Porzingis shoots as Miami Heat's James Johnson defends during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Jan. 5, 2018, in Miami. Credit: AP / Lynne Sladky
MIAMI — Kristaps Porzingis had a day off in Miami, but he still looked like someone who could use some rest.
Porzingis had a huge rebound and assist on Doug McDermott’s tying three-pointer with 1.1 seconds left in regulation Friday night. Overall, however, it was another mostly ineffective game for him as the Knicks lost in overtime to the Heat, 107-103, with owner James Dolan in attendance.
It was their seventh loss in eight games and dropped them to 3-14 on the road. The Knicks (18-21) are three games under .500 for the first time since starting 0-3.
After saying he was tired after the Knicks’ loss to Washington on Wednesday, Porzingis didn’t look any fresher. He scored 15 points, shot 5-for-14, went scoreless in overtime and didn’t attempt a shot in the last 6:41 of regulation and overtime.
“There’s a lot of pressure [on me] in the overtime,” he said. “There weren’t many opportunities for me. It’s how it goes sometimes. On to the next one. We’ll figure out how to get the ball to me and how I can be effective. Right now, we’re struggling a little bit.”
Courtney Lee scored 24 points for the Knicks. Michael Beasley had 20 but left the game for four minutes in overtime after spraining his left ankle. Enes Kanter added 14 points.
The Knicks were victimized at the end by poor execution, and Jeff Hornacek thought a couple of bad whistles were a factor.
The Heat's Hassan Whiteside blocks a shot by the Knicks' Enes Kanter during the first half on Friday, Jan. 5, 2018, in Miami. Credit: AP / Lynne Sladky
Jarrett Jack drove for a layup to tie the score at 103 with 1:38 left in overtime but missed a shot on the next trip and then committed a turnover. After the Heat went up 105-103, Jack missed a short jumper and the rebound went out of bounds off Beasley with 10.1 seconds left.
The officials originally ruled it a jump ball, then Knicks’ ball, but they overturned the call when they reviewed the replay. Hornacek didn’t agree.
“I just watched it in there,” he said. “Mike went up for the rebound, [James] Johnson took a swipe at it. Mike’s fingers didn’t move forward. I don’t know how he knocked the ball forward. We didn’t get the break there.”
After the replay was overturned, the Knicks couldn’t come up with a steal on the inbounds pass. Johnson was fouled with 7.2 seconds left and iced the game with two free throws.
Hornacek also thought Porzingis was called for a foul on Kelly Olynyk late in the fourth quarter that shouldn’t have been called. Olynyk hit two free throws with 32.2 seconds left to put the Heat up one.
“On the road, you can’t expect to get those calls,” Hornacek said. “We just got to play through them.”
The Heat (22-17) was led by backup guard Wayne Ellington, who scored 24 points. Goran Dragic had 19 points and six assists and Josh Richardson added 18 points.
Beasley scored on the first possession of overtime, making it 99-97, but as he ran back down the court, he fell over Ellington and injured his ankle. He left the game and didn’t return until 25.7 seconds remained.
Dragic’s three-pointer gave Miami a 100-99 lead. Two free throws by Porzingis with 2:45 left put the Knicks back on top, but Ellington’s three-pointer gave the Heat a 103-101 lead with 2:22 remaining.
The Knicks went ahead 94-93 on Beasley’s two free throws with 43.6 seconds left in the fourth quarter, but they couldn’t get a stop. Porzingis was whistled for a foul on Olynyk, who sank two free throws with 32.2 seconds remaining.
The Knicks went to Beasley, who had the hot hand, but his jumper from the left wing didn’t drop. Porzingis tapped it, but Ellington chased down the loose ball with 14.2 seconds to go.
After the Knicks couldn’t steal the inbounds pass, Lee intentionally fouled Richardson with 13.2 seconds left. He converted both foul shots for a 97-94 Heat lead.
McDermott then tied it, but the Knicks had no magic in overtime.
“Our effort was there,” Porzingis said. “We played hard. Little things that matter at the end. There’s always things you can do better. The fight was there.”
Said Hornacek, “We had some good looks. We had some opportunities. We didn’t make them. I thought it came down to some calls at the end there.”
Porzingis downplays comment. Porzingis, who has shot 15-for-46 and scored 44 points in the last three games, said after Wednesday night’s loss to Washington that he was “so tired.’’ That raised questions about whether he is ready to handle the grind of being the Knicks’ franchise player for a full season, but he said too much was made of it.
“After playing a back-to-back, everybody feels tired,” he said. “If you don’t feel that, you didn’t play hard.”
Porzingis’ minutes are about the same as last season, but his role is different. He’s no longer the second or third option, having assumed Carmelo Anthony’s role as the focal point of the offense. Defenses are game-planning to stop him, and with Tim Hardaway Jr. having missed the last 18 games with a stress injury in his lower left leg, Porzingis is getting even more defensive attention. But he said he knew what to expect.
“It’s physically harder,” he said. “That’s something I was preparing myself for. It’s not that all of a sudden it hit me and I have to be ready. I prepared myself for it and I have to be ready for it if I want to be the guy. There can’t be any excuses made now that there’s so many minutes I’m playing or whatever it is.”
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
