New York Knicks rookie Kristaps Porzingis has become the toast of the NBA and it seemed it was only a matter of time before the Zinger got burned.
Against the Houston Rockets on Sunday, the 7’3” Latvian met his match when fellow big man Dwight Howard manhandled the rook with this two-handed alley-oop over the Knicks sensation.
Even though K-Por, KP, K-Zing or whatever you want to call him, ended up on the wrong end of a Superman poster dunk, he still finished the game with 20 points and 13 rebounds in a 116-11 OT loss to the Rockets.
And just like that, Kristaps Porzingis has suddenly turned the Knicks fans' boos in Brooklyn into woos out in Vegas.
The lanky Latvian and Jahlil Okafor — who was taken third, right in front of Porzingis in the NBA Draft — had their first head-to-head meeting and Porzingis ended up holding his own.
Okafor was smooth in the post and his strength bothered the 7-foot-3, 233-pound Porzingis, who called it "a little mismatch." But with the game on the line Tuesday, the Latvian big man came through and again heard chants of "Por-Zing-is" from some Knicks' fans in the Thomas & Mack Center.
Porzingis blocked Okafor's shot three times. And although Okafor had the better overall game, finishing with 18 points compared to nine for Porzingis, it was Knicks rookie's blocked shot in OT late helped the Knicks to an 84-81 win over the 76ers.
"He loves to compete," Derek Fisher said. "That's why we're excited about the potential that he has. A lot of the young guys don't love the game and playing and competing and mixing it up the way he does. I don't think he really thinks about his frame as a disadvantage. He's willing to get down and dirty. I think he showed that.
"He stood right up to Okafor and played him. Statistically, Okafor won the game, but Kristaps' team won. That's the major stat that really tells you the difference between guys."
It's only summer league, but the Knicks are 3-0 and Porzingis continues to impress.
