Daily Knicks
Fansided

New York Knicks: Ranking Kristaps Porzingis’ best games from 2017

By Maxwell Ogden

NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 5: Kristaps Porzingis #6 of the New York Knicks celebrates a win against the Indiana Pacers on November 5, 2017 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 5: Kristaps Porzingis #6 of the New York Knicks celebrates a win against the Indiana Pacers on November 5, 2017 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 6
Next
NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 30: Kristaps Porzingis #6 of the New York Knicks shoots the ball against the Denver Nuggets on October 30, 2017 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. Copyright 2017 NBAE. (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 30: Kristaps Porzingis #6 of the New York Knicks shoots the ball against the Denver Nuggets on October 30, 2017 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. Copyright 2017 NBAE. (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /

3. The Duel of the European Bigs

When the New York Knicks hosted the Denver Nuggets on Oct. 30, 2017, all eyes were on the interior positions. Denver’s Nikola Jokic is a folk hero in the advanced metrics community—so much so that many believe he’s surpassed Kristaps Porzingis on the NBA’s hierarchy.

While Jokic is a phenomenal player, Porzingis took over and ultimately outplayed the player who’s likely to be his rival for years to come.

Porzingis posted 38 points, seven rebounds, two offensive boards, two assists, and three blocks in 34 spectacular minutes. He shot 14-of-26 from the field, 4-of-7 from beyond the arc, and 6-of-6 from the charity stripe.

That includes a memorable duel with Jokic in the fourth quarter, during which Porzingis scored 10 points to lead New York to the 116-110 victory.

The story behind this game isn’t just that Porzingis had a chance to address his critics against the contemporary player whom he’s most often compared to. It’s also that New York blew a 23-point lead and appeared to be heading into a downward spiral with a fourth loss in six games.

Whether it was All-Defense power forward Paul Millsap or future All-NBA center Nikola Jokic, no one could stop Porzingis from saving the Knicks.