Kristaps Porzingis left the New York Knicks’ 111-104 victory over the Nets in Brooklyn on Thursday night with a sore left knee and did not return.
The 7-foot-3, 22-year-old Latvian star forward sustained the non-contact injury with 9:34 left in the third quarter and immediately asked to step off the court as he limped.
Porzingis finished with 13 points, four assists and two rebounds in 18 minutes of play.
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The Knicks (15-13, 8th in Eastern Conference) are already without guard Tim Hardaway, Jr., who continues to recover from a stress injury in his left leg. New York is vying to remain in their Conference’s playoff picture.
ESPN.com’s Ian Begley later reported that Porzingis first suffered the injury in the first quarter before re-aggravating it in the third quarter. The forward will be evaluated on Friday.
Porzingis also said Thursday that fans should show his former teammate Carmelo Anthony a lot of “love” when he returns to Madison Square Garden.
The 33-year-old forward — who spent 6.5 seasons with the Knicks — will play in New York on Saturday night for the first time since he was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in late September.
“I think he was as professional as he can be in his time here in New York, so I don’t see why they would not receive him with love,” Porzingis said.
Porzingis recently appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
During Anthony’s tenure, the Knicks only made it past the first round of the playoffs once, and have failed to reach the postseason the last four years.
Courtney Lee says he believes Anthony could draw mixed reactions on Saturday evening.
“I think more cheers than anything,” said Lee. “You can’t fault the guy for going out there and playing hard and leaving it all out there on the court and just trying to help the team win. Whether it was the style that some fans wanted or didn’t want, he competed night in and night out.”
The Thunder have struggled in the first two months of the season. Oklahoma City is currently 13-14 and in eighth place in the Western Conference. Veterans Anthony, Paul George and Russell Westbrook still appear to be adjusting to playing together.
Entering Friday, Anthony was averaging career lows in points per game (17.7), field goal percentage (40 percent) and field goal attempts per game (16.2).
After the Thunder, the Knicks will visit Charlotte on Monday night.
Caption:OAKLAND, CA – MARCH 16: Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors tries to steal the ball from Kristaps Porzingis #6 of the New York Knicks at ORACLE Arena on March 16, 2016 in Oakland, California.
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