On a night when they often looked more like the 1969 Knicks than the 2015-16 Knicks and shared the ball and played defense with Bill Bradley watching it all next to old friend Phil Jackson … well, let’s let Kristaps Porzingis try to make sense of it all.
“Everybody was involved, everybody was attacking, everybody was trying to be aggressive when we had the opportunity,” Porzingis said after Knicks 108, Magic 95.
Porzingis (18 points) was a Latvian babe in the woods who openly professed his desire to play in New York, for the Knicks, at the Garden. Perhaps he thought Derek Fisher was the young Gregg Popovich, that Jackson had assembled enough talent around Carmelo Anthony to make a fringe playoff run, that someone, anyone, could be an impact point guard, that the triangle offense would become all the rage.
Alas, the light at the end of the tunnel is still just a flicker. And yet through it all, they have yet to knock the smile off Porzingis’ face.
While this is the latest winter of Anthony’s discontent, Porzingis weathers the storm and refuses to be robbed of his innocence, or hope for a brighter tomorrow.
“I know that we’re going to get better, that’s the thing,” Porzingis told The Post. “I will be growing as a player, I’m working very hard and I know I will get better and you’re going to be able to help more and more, that’s why I know there’s something positive at the end of this.”
How much better. And when?
“I think we can get A LOT better,” Porzingis said. “We have, I think, the biggest margin of growth, that we can grow a lot more as a team.
“This is only the beginning. We had a good start (22-22), we tripped a little bit, and now we got to get back up and have a good end of the season.
“It takes time to build something good. I think next season can be pretty special for us.”
Porzingis and fellow rookie Jerian Grant, who didn’t play Wednesday night and needs to play more, offered a glimpse of what the future could look like if Jackson or Anthony, assuming he resists waiving his no-trade clause, only can recruit a marquee third piece for what would be a Big 3 triangle offense.
The Knicks broke the game open in the second quarter with Anthony watching:
Grant (five points, three assists in 16 minutes) steals an entry pass from Mario Hezonja. Porzingis crashes the glass for a follow. Grant feeds Porzingis, who sinks a pair of free throws. Porzingis denies an entry pass for Nikola Vucevic and bats it off Vucevic out of bounds. Porzingis dishes a bounce pass to Lance Thomas, who sinks a pair of free throws.
Not everyone gets to step onto a championship stage the way Derek Jeter did in 1996. You can only hope Porzingis doesn’t have to wait for his one shining moment as long as David Wright had to wait to reach his first World Series. Knicks fans can only pray Porzingis remains as committed to the Knicks as Wright has been to the Mets. Or, if you really want to believe in miracles, as Ernie Banks was to the Cubs.
When a 24-point lead dwindled to 11, Anthony fed a slashing Porzingis for a thunder jam that stopped the bleeding. Grant followed with a pair of assists before Arron Afflalo fed Porzingis, streaking ahead of the field, for an over-the-shoulder catch and another monster throwdown. A Porzingis hook made it Knicks 93, Magic 73.
Porzingis (six rebounds, two blocks) was more assertive on the boards than he has been of late.
“You look one year back, I had barely no post game at all,” Porzingis said. “So that’s something I need to still work on a lot, and I have a great guy to learn from on our team … Melo.”
Interim coach Kurt Rambis wants Porzingis to be more of a presence inside, where he can eventually be unstoppable.
“At some point in time he’s just going to be phenomenal,” Rambis said. “But he’s still going through a growth process himself. There were some shots out there that I just flat out didn’t like, they were just poor shots. We’re working with him on his decision-making in those situations.”
The Zen Master’s Rome won’t be built in a day, or in two years. It is problematic that the Knicks are not yet a must-visit paradise that would compel free agent difference-makers to want to take their talents to 33rd and Seventh. Anthony will be 32 in May and Jackson’s coach is an interim.
Porzingis said he wants Anthony to stay, and grow alongside him while Anthony grows older. The clock is ticking on that arrangement. It has been ticking for 43 years — and counting.
“This is the place that you can be legend one day,” Porzingis said.
The Knicks will need him to be one.