NEW YORK -- During a dead-ball situation late in the first quarter on Wednesday night, Carmelo Anthony put his arm around rookie Kristaps Porzingis and delivered a subtle message.
“I was just trying to get him to calm down and relax. I don’t think he was nervous. It was a little bit more of him being anxious, his first game,” Anthony said.
The message was a welcome one. An admittedly anxious Porzingis opened his first game at Madison Square Garden with two misses and two mishandled passes that led to turnovers.
“I just wanted to show everybody what I can do. (It) was in my head. I had to relax a little bit,” Porzingis said.
Shortly after the message from Melo, Porzingis seemed to settle down. He blocked a shot in the second quarter and knocked down a 3-pointer off a feed from rookie Jerian Grant -- his first basket as a pro.
“It was a relief,” said Porzingis, who started at power forward on Wednesday. “I’m like, 'OK, I’m good, don’t worry about nothing. Whenever you have a shot, take it, if not keep playing.' That moment I realized got to just let the game flow.”
Porzingis’ first game as a Knick was an uneven one, but he showed promise. He established position in the post at times, but on a few possessions, he was pushed around. He had a few rebounds slip out of his hands and finished with just two. But the 20-year-old also showed that he can knock down the outside shot and seemed to grow comfortable as time went on.
“I was anxious, so the beginning didn’t start off good,” Porzingis said. “Later on, I just focused and I made some shots and I was more active on defense.”
Porzingis finished with seven points, two rebounds, one block and two turnovers in 20 minutes. He shot 2-for-6 from the field and 2-for-3 from beyond the arc.
“I thought it was a good experience for him to start to learn how much energy it takes to perform every night,” Knicks coach Derek Fisher said. “... I think he put (forth) a solid effort. Statistically, that’s not really our focus for how we’re going to evaluate how he does for us. But I think the numbers will be there as time goes on.”
Porzingis took the court for warm-ups about 2½ hours before tipoff. Prior to the game, he made it clear that he’s familiar with how New York City treats its star athletes.
“If you’re great here, they will love you; if you suck, then they will let you know it,” Porzingis said. “It’s definitely a tough place. I love that. You can do all you want talking, but you’ve got to go out there on the floor and actually prove that you can play, and then they’ll respect you.”
Porzingis will have another chance to prove himself to the home crowd on Monday when the Knicks host the Sixers.
Melo feels "good” after debut: Anthony took the court at the Garden for the first time since playing in the 2015 All-Star Game and looked sharp. He finished with 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting in 20 minutes.
“I felt good. I was just more excited to be back out there on the court playing, putting the uniform back on, being able to put kind of my injury behind me at this point,” Anthony said. Anthony had been sidelined since late February, when he underwent major knee surgery. ... Grant looked comfortable and confident in his debut, finishing with eight points and four assists in 27 minutes. Kyle O'Quinn also came off the bench and delivered a strong performance. The Queens native scored 14 points, grabbed eight rebounds and handed out four assists in his Knicks debut. Kevin Seraphin added 14 points.... Madison Square Garden had been sold out for 201 consecutive Knicks home games (preseason, regular season and playoffs) since 2010. That streak ended on Wednesday. The Knicks announced a 19,037 crowd in their preseason opener. The sellout number is 19,812.
