When Kristaps Porzingis was drafted by the New York Knicks on June 25, merely months ago, he was roundly booed by the always rowdy Knicks fans at the Barclays Center. Today, those same boos cast towards New York's Latvian sensation would be blasphemy of the highest order.
2015 NBA scores: Kristaps Porzingis is giving the Knicks life
Also, the Sixers and Hawks still can’t beat their demons, while Boogie Cousins proves his value (again).
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
The latest accomplishment in Porzingis' persuasive rookie campaign came on Saturday in a 107-102 win against the Houston Rockets. Porzingis dazzled, scoring 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting, bringing down 14 rebounds with his long-limbed frame and finishing with a team-high plus-13. And seven, count 'em, SEVEN blocks.
Coming off a season-low seven points on Friday, Porzingis waved the "Men in Black" neuralyzer with Saturday's outing. Gone were concerns about his thin frame or lackluster defense when he was bullying Houston on the glass and nightmarishly pursuing every James Harden layup attempt. You didn't even remember that he's only shooting 41 percent from the floor and 28 percent from behind the arc for the year. And honestly, those things don't matter, because consistency isn't something that matters for Porzingis this early in his career. No, what matters is sweeping hook shots like this...
BEHOLD THE SKYZINGIS pic.twitter.com/xh1Fmc7PvA
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) November 22, 2015 ... and this.
What matters is a career-high seven blocks and haunting Harden all night. What matters is the promise that’s almost oozing from every move he makes on a basketball court, showing a vastly skilled seven-footer that has the potential to become nearly anything.
And more importantly, this isn’t meaningless hype. The Knicks have won four straight now and just went back over .500 by beating Houston -- a .500 mark that some weren’t sure they’d hit again after falling below it early on.
Porzingis alone isn’t responsible for the winning streak -- but damn right he’s the most exciting part of it.
SB Nation presents: Introducing Porzingis! A revolution in NBA rim cleanup
3 more things we learned
The 76ers almost won. No, seriously, they were so close.
The Philadelphia 76ers, the NBA’s last bastion of winless basketball, nearly fell ... nearly. But even when they went up nearly 20 points in the first half and led by double digits in the fourth quarter, you could never quite believe they’d be able to pull it off, not against a veteran-laden team like Miami. And, well, they couldn’t, sadly.
This loss makes them 0-14, pushing them dangerously close to the 0-17 start they began last year with.
Atlanta still can't handle the Cavaliers
After losing in last year's Eastern Conference Finals, the Hawks finally met back up with Cleveland but could do nothing to alter the results. The 109-97 loss didn't show Atlanta at their best -- they didn't look ready to match the Cavs' 48 minutes of physicality -- but no doubt this is a brutal matchup for them, too.
Cavs are a brutal match up for Atlanta. Elite rebounding team, elite wing, and a big who has the size/speed to handle Millsap.
— FearTheSword (@FearTheSword) November 22, 2015 The Kings still go as Cousins does
Sacramento -- falling apart just two weeks into the season -- has suddenly burst out, notching four wins in their last six games. One of those two losses came Thursday when DeMarcus Cousins sat with a one-game suspension after throwing a forearm. In the other five games, Cousins is averaging 32 points on 46 percent shooting, 12 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.8 blocks. He's still playing with his newest toy, the three-pointer, jacking 17 attempts and making six of them (36 percent).
Cousins is one of the NBA’s very best big men and Sacramento needs him playing like this nightly. Thursday illustrated just how lost the Kings are without him.
Play of the night
can we frame this in a museum somewhere for eternity pic.twitter.com/MaZguc7BMk
— Tim Cato (@tim_cato) November 22, 2015 2 fun things
Nerlens Noel is so young he doesn't know he's not suppose to play like White Chocolate.
Final scores
Kings 97, Magic 91 (Sactown Royalty recap | Orlando Pinstriped Post recap)
Pacers 123, Bucks 86 (Indy Cornrows recap | Brew Hoop recap)
Cavaliers 109, Hawks 97 (Fear the Sword recap | Peachtree Hoops recap)
Heat 96, 76ers 91 (Hot Hot Hoops recap | Liberty Ballers recap)
Knicks 107, Rockets 102 (Posting & Toasting recap | The Dream Shake recap)
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