The New York Knicks had no problem taking care of the Cleveland Cavaliers on the road on Sunday (Oct. 29) while running away with a 114-95 win. The win for the Knicks gave them their second straight victory after starting the season with a 0-3 record.
Knicks' star Kristaps Porzingis finished the game with 32 points and 12 rebounds. He was happy to get his first career win against the Cavs during his young career. A report by ESPN quoted the players following the victory.
"It's nice to finally beat the Cavs for the first time in my career," Porzingis said.
"Hopefully we can be in the playoffs where that really matters."
What was really encouraging is that forward Tim Hardaway Jr. finally broke out after four bad games to start the season. He ended up connecting on 50 percent of his three-point attempts and finished the game with 34 points, four rebounds, eight assists, and two steals.
"I did a lot more attacking," Hardaway said. "I took the 3s when they were there. Seeing one go down opens up a lot."
Hardaway earning his paycheck
The 25-year-old Hardaway was drafted by the Knicks in the first round of the 2013 NBA Draft out of Michigan but was traded to the Atlanta Hawks in 2015 for the draft rights to Jerian Grant.
Hardaway re-signed with the Knicks this past offseason after a strong season in 2016-17 with the Atlanta Hawks.
He agreed to a four-year, $71 million contract. So there is plenty of pressure on him to perform on one of the biggest stages in the NBA.
Hardaway proved, against the Cavs, that he can be a big-time contributor. If he can average over 20 points a game this season, he'll certainly be earning his $17.75 million salary.
Jarrett Jack is perfect for the Knicks
The Knicks have been looking for a point guard for a long time and while Jarrett Jack isn't the long-term answer, he's perfect for this season, as rookie Frank Ntiikina develops and gets acclimated to playing in the NBA. Ntiikina came over from France when New York decided to use the ninth overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft on him.
The Knicks have been mentioned in the same sentence as players like Ricky Rubio when it comes to trade rumors in the past. New York has also been linked to plenty of big-name point guards during the offseason, but the 34-year-old Jack is perfect right now because he enjoys playing with Ntilikina and is willing to help him develop as an NBA point guard.
With the New York Knicks playing in the weakened Eastern Conference, the team might just have enough talent to make the 2018 NBA Playoffs.
