New York Knicks: Who stepped up with Kristaps Porzingis absent?

Tim Hardaway Jr.

With Kristaps Porzingis sidelined, the New York Knicks turned to Tim Hardaway Jr. for production on offense. Hardaway pulled his weight, providing the expected level of production as a scorer and surprising value on the boards.

It was a difficult night for the Knicks to push through, but matched up against a productive perimeter, Hardaway stepped up with a big performance.

Hardaway finished with 26 points and 11 rebounds—good for his first career double-double. He overcame his recent shooting woes to convert at a rate of 11-of-21 from the field and 3-of-3 at the free throw line, thus turning in one of his most efficient performances to date.

Hardaway continues to struggle from beyond the arc, but his 1-of-5 showing from distance isn’t exactly cause for concern after he played as well as he did.

Since starting the regular season with four inefficient performances, Hardaway has turned things around in an under-appreciated manner. In the seven games since, he’s averaging 21.7 points on an efficient slash line of .473/.350/.793.

There’s still an element of streakiness to his game, but Hardaway isn’t receiving enough credit for how well he’s turned this season around.