Detroit Pistons guard Ish Smith, left, and forward Jon Leuer, right, guard New York Knicks forward Kristaps Porzingis (6) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2016, at Madison Square Garden in New York. AP
NEW YORK, New York—Kristaps Porzingis heard the roar of the fans and looked up at the scoreboard to see why they were cheering.
The board showed that Porzingis had his first 30-point game in the NBA, and the New York Knicks think it could be the first of many.
“He’s figuring everything out,” point guard Derrick Rose said. “Like, he’s going out here scoring 30 and he really don’t know the NBA yet.”
Porzingis scored a career-high 35 points and the Knicks held on for a 105-102 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night.
The 7-foot-3 forward from Latvia hit three 3-pointers and converted a dazzling three-point play in the first half after dunking a lob pass on the fast break.
“You see the whole package tonight,” coach Jeff Hornacek said. “He was inside, he was outside. I thought he was great.”
Carmelo Anthony added 22 points to help the Knicks win their second straight. Joakim Noah bounced back nicely with seven points and 15 rebounds after he was benched in the second half of the Knicks’ victory over Dallas on Monday night while Porzingis moved to center in a smaller lineup.
Porzingis played some more center Wednesday and everywhere else on the floor, drawing “MVP! MVP!” chants while also grabbing seven rebounds.
“It was just happening, and a lot of stuff that I worked on during the summer came out,” he said.
It almost wasn’t enough, as Detroit pulled within two in the final minute and had a chance to tie but Kentavious Caldwell-Pope missed a 3-pointer on the last possession.
He finished with 21 points and Tobias Harris added 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Pistons, who had won two straight.
Porzingis was 4 for 5 for nine points in the first quarter, then had 16 more in the second quarter, highlighted by his slam that broke a 33-all tie. Kyle O’Quinn had blocked a shot to trigger a fast break, with Porzingis running ahead to catch Brandon Jennings’ lob and slam it down while being fouled by Jon Leuer, landing awkwardly but getting up quickly as Knicks players from the nearby bench spilled onto the floor in celebration.
“The guy had a great night and some of what he did is unstoppable,” Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said. “But when he outruns you down the floor for a dunk off a missed shot, not a turnover, that’s inexcusable.”