NEW YORK—Michael Beasley harbors no illusions that the Madison Square Garden crowd that serenaded him with chants of “MVP!” was serious about the accolade. But he certainly played like it, at least for a night.
Beasley had the hot hand as New York held off the Boston Celtics, 102-93, Thursday night, when the Knicks welcomed back a cold-shooting Kristaps Porzingis.
“It’s nice to hear but I am pretty sure it’s for KP (Porzingis),” said Beasley. “I’m just here for the team. Whatever they need, whenever they need. Scoring, rebounding, defense. I just try my best.”
Beasley finished with 32 points on 13-of-20 shooting and added 12 rebounds off the bench.
The Knicks were 1-5 without Porzingis this season, and the Latvian center was hoping to come out big in his return after dealing with a sore left knee. But he shot 0-of-11 from the field and was hardly a factor.