New York Knicks: Who Stepped Up Against The Portland Trail Blazers?

Kristaps Porzingis

With the Portland Trail Blazers pouring in points and the New York Knicks in need of offense, Kristaps Porzingis took over. He made shots off the bounce, in transition, off the catch, and in the paint for a healthy display of his incredible offensive arsenal.

Porzingis still has areas in which he must improve, but his performance against Portland firmly solidified his status as a rising star.

Porzingis tallied marks of 31 points, nine rebounds, three offensive boards, one assist, and a block in 40 minutes of play. He shot 13-of-23 from the field, went 3-of-8 from beyond the arc, and converted both of his free throw attempts.

From a statistical perspective and a pure basketball point of view, it was yet another All-Star level performance by a player who’s generating legitimate buzz in his second season.

Porzingis has now scored at least 20 points in eight of his first 14 appearances and at least 30 points in two. That’s a promising trend for the Knicks, which improved to 6-2 when Porzingis scores at least 20 points and 1-5 when he fails to reach that plateau.

Porzingis dominated the Trail Blazers with a versatile skill set that’s coalescing early in the 2016-17 NBA regular season.