New York Knicks: Hardaway Jr. and Porzingis carry team to victory

The New York Knicks defeated the Utah Jazz 106-101 on Wednesday night behind big-time performances from Tim Hardaway Jr. and Kristaps Porzingis.

Once again the New York Knicks are victorious at home, taking down the Utah Jazz 106-101. The new look Knicks are officially 7-3 at home and 8-6 overall this season.

They are showing positive signs for a team that wasn’t expected to be this good so early after losing All-Star Carmelo Anthony, who seems to be a blur in the memory of Knicks fans and rightfully so.

After a tough loss Monday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers where the Knicks blew a 23-point lead thanks to a 4th quarter takeover from LeBron James and Kyle Korver, the Knicks had a 4th quarter comeback of their own.

New York beat the Utah Jazz Wednesday night thanks in large part to Tim Hardaway Jr. catching fire, scoring 14 of his 26 points in the 4th quarter. In the offseason, some people questioned whether or not Hardaway Jr. deserved the $71 million contract he signed. Well, those questions may soon be put to rest after performances like Monday and Wednesday night.

Coach Jeff Hornaceck has his team looking energetic, hungry, and surprisingly poised for such a young team. There are no egos and it’s evidently clear that each player is playing for the name on the front of the jersey and not the one on the back. New York City needed this, the Garden needed this, the Knicks needed this, and more importantly, the fans needed this. Now there’s genuinely something to cheer for.

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The New York Knicks front office and coaching staff clearly have a lot of confidence in 2017 lottery pick Frank Ntilikina. They’ve allowed him to play big minutes down the stretch in the 4th quarter despite his offensive deficiencies. However, Ntilikina’s effort, hustle, and winning mentality drastically overshadow those offensive woes for the time being, especially when Hardaway Jr. and Porzingis show up how they did Wednesday night.

Bounce back performances like Wednesday night say a lot about a young team trying to make a name for themselves and these new-look Knickerbockers are doing a helluva job.

Down the stretch, Hardaway Jr. and Kristaps Porzingis showed that they are creating quite the 1-2 punch. To go along with Hardaway’s 26 points, Porzingis added 22 of his own, including a key 3-pointer late in the 4th quarter.

Rodney Hood of the Utah Jazz led all scorers with 30 points. Although the Jazz was scorching hot going 10-18 from 3-point land in the first half, the Knicks were able to rally back from a 12-point deficit in the 3rd quarter to mark their third double-digit comeback win in eight days.

This goes to show this team isn’t backing down and they’re going to fight to the end, something that was not familiar to Knicks fans in recent memory.

Next: New York Knicks: What does the future hold?

The Garden is packed, the team is electric, and there’s a new buzz in New York City and it’s not just the New York Yankees. Make way, the New York Knicks are making a name for themselves.