Somehow it was two victories in one night for the Knicks.
Porzingis’ horrific-looking ankle injury turned into just a sprain and the club, behind Enes Kanter’s off-the-charts energy, routed the Heat 115-86 without the Latvian phenom Wednesday.
Porzingis said he knew his ankle wasn’t broken as he was helped off the Garden floor less than three minutes into the night. And he wouldn’t let himself think the most dire thoughts of his season being over as his face remained stoic.
A pall covered the Garden as sickening replays were being shown on the scoreboard — Porzingis’ right ankle bending horrifically after an ill-fated chase for a loose ball.
“It wasn’t hurting super bad — it was painful obviously, but it wasn’t crazy pain,’’ Porzingis said. “I tried not to show my emotions when I get hurt. I didn’t really think much at that moment.
“They call me lizard because I recover so quickly from things.’’
A night that started out as a potential disaster 2 ¹/₂ minutes in softened into something much less. Twenty-five minutes after their star hobbled off the court, the Knicks announced the injury was just a sprain, even stating Porzingis was available to return.
Of course he didn’t make it back, but the club still was counting on him returning for Sunday’s game against Orlando despite Porzingis limping out of the locker room.
The Knicks won the game and won the X-ray room, even if he’s out at least a week.
“I knew it wasn’t broken,’’ Porzingis said. “I’ve had fractures before. I know how that feels and I knew the bones were fine. It was a tendon [worry]. It looked worse than it felt.”
Jeff Hornacek said no MRI exam is planned to see if there’s more significant damage that didn’t show on the X-rays. But Porzingis said he wasn’t sure what was next, but felt he’d be ready Sunday. He said he was “close’’ to returning to the action.
“It’s hard to say,’’ Porzingis said of future tests. “I’m walking around with no crutches, no nothing. We’ll see how it feels [Thursday]. We’ll really know what’s going on.’’
Porzingis said he saw the replays in the locker room.
“I knew it was bad because I felt the ankle touching the floor,’’ he said. “I didn’t want to overact to it.’’
“It didn’t look pretty,’’ Hornacek added. “He’s a tough kid. He’s played through some bumps and bruises. As I said, he wanted to come back into the game.”
But Hornacek couldn’t not stop thinking about Celtics forward Gordon Hayward, whose gruesome season-opening ankle/leg injury ended his season before it began.
“It wasn’t a Gordon Hayward thing — nothing like that,’’ Hornacek said. “He’ll get treatment. Hopefully he’s ready next game.”
Probably not, but this was a night to breathe a sigh of relief and realize the fragility of it all.
“My adrenaline was high so I wasn’t feeling it as much,’’ Porzingis said. “I didn’t want to make any conclusions at the moment.’’
Kanter said he spoke with Porzingis at halftime and knew a disaster had been averted with his frontcourt mate talking about returning to the action.
“He’s a strong unicorn,’’ Kanter said.
Kanter’s triumphant return from back spasms — 22 points and 14 rebounds — increased the belief he’s their second-most important player outside Porzingis. He helped the Knicks snap a three-game losing streak with his energy.
The Knicks, who moved to 11-10, lost all three of those games without Kanter. The Heat were without Hassan Whiteside, their All-Star center, and playing on the second night of a back-to-back.
The Knicks opened up a 30-point lead late in the second quarter. By then the promising news Porzingis’ ankle was just sprained was out of the bag.
On the play, Justise Winslow stepped on Porzingis’ foot as they chased down a loose ball in the corner near the Miami bench. The way the ankle bent sideways is normally indicative of a major injury. A hobbled Porzingis, who was 2-of-2 from the field, was helped off the court by Willy Hernangomez and two trainers.
By halftime, Porzingis rode a stationary bike, then went back to the trainer’s room for treatment.
“When he came in at halftime he said he was going to try and come back and play so I knew it wasn’t too bad,’’ Courtney Lee said. “In that moment on the court, we had to rally together. You can’t replace what KP does.’’