Porzingis-led Knicks rally to defeat Nets
NEW YORK -- Kristaps Porzingis scored 12 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter when Carmelo Anthony did not play and the New York Knicks rallied for a 95-90 victory over the Brooklyn Nets Wednesday night at Barclays Center.
Porzingis returned after sitting with a stomach virus in Tuesday's loss at Washington. He made 4 of 6 shots in the fourth quarter and grabbed four rebounds to help the Knicks win for only the sixth time in their last 22 games since Dec. 22.
Willy Hernangomez added 14 of his 16 in the fourth quarter for the Knicks, who trailed for the first 43-plus minutes and won despite shooting 35.4 percent.
The strong fourth quarter by Porzingis and Hernangomez occurred while Anthony was a spectator on the bench. Anthony scored 15 points and was 6-of-22 from the floor.
The Nets dropped their seventh straight and were led by Rondae Hollis-Jefferson's 16 points. Bojan Bogdanovic added 14 points but Brook Lopez was held to 10 and shot 4-of-11.
The Nets held a 76-66 lead in the opening minutes of the fourth on a dunk by Justin Hamilton, forcing the Knicks to use an early timeout. New York then scored the next 10 points to get back into it and eventually seized their first lead.
Porzingis was responsible for getting New York's first lead when he drove in untouched for a two-handed dunk with 5:42 left. The dunk gave the Knicks a 79-78 lead and it grew to 84-80 about a minute later when Hernangomez tipped in a Porzingis pass.
The Knicks struggled to expand their lead and the Nets were within 87-84 on a 3-pointer by Bogdanovic with 82 seconds remaining.
Following a timeout, Hernangomez put back his own miss with 53.2 seconds remaining. He kept the possession alive after boxing out Hollis-Jefferson after Brandon Jennings nearly committed a shot-clock violation.
Hamilton hit two free throws with 50.1 seconds remaining to get it to 89-86. Porzingis then delighted the Knicks fans in the crowd when his left wing 3-pointer over Hamilton rattled around the rim and in for a 92-86 lead with 32.7 seconds remaining.
NOTES: Nets G Jeremy Lin (strained left hamstring) participated in early pregame shooting by taking contested 3-pointers and other shots roughly two hours before the opening tip. ... Knicks G Derrick Rose (sprained left ankle) missed his third straight game. Coach Jeff Hornacek said he expects Rose to practice Friday and believes he will play Saturday against Cleveland. ... New York F Lance Thomas (fractured left orbital) saw a specialist Wednesday afternoon. ... Asked about the Nets trying to reach popularity levels of the Knicks, coach Kenny Atkinson said: "We're off-Broadway right now. We're trying to get on." ... The Nets used their 21st starting lineup as F Trevor Booker and G Spencer Dinwiddie were replaced by F Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and G Isaiah Whitehead, respectively.