There were plenty of storylines in the Knicks’ 124-122 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night, and rookie Ariel Hukporti’s performance was definitely one of them.
The 6-foot-11 center from Germany had the best game of his young career, scoring seven points, while coming down with four rebounds, dishing three assists and making four blocks in 30 minutes on the court.
His previous high in minutes was 12 back at the end of October.
Why was he on the court for that long? Well, Karl-Anthony Towns did not play with a knee ailment and with other big men like Precious Achiuwa and Mitchell Robinson still unable to get back on the court, Hukporti stepped up.
Coach Tom Thibodeau said it was Hukporti’s energy that led to his decision to roll with the rookie in the Knicks’ win.
That energy was a theme in the Knicks locker room when Hukporti’s teammates described his performance, especially from Josh Hart, the ultimate “energy” guy on the roster.
“[His performance was] Huge. Energy. A presence on the screens, protecting the rim, rebounding the ball deflections, running the court,” Hart said of Hukporti. “The thing about a rookie is for him is the hard thing is to continue to have the energy and not being complacent…. You guys saw a glimpse of what he can do. We’re excited for what he is and he’s going to be big for us.”
“He looked really good out there and the way we were able to find him in certain opportunities,” Jalen Brunson said. “He made the most of his opportunity tonight and I’m porous of him. We’re proud of him.”
Beyond his stat line, the 22-year-old was impactful on both ends of the floor. He disrupted passing lanes and players driving to the rim and was even involved on a breakaway dunk that got the MSG crowd on their feet.
Hukporti also grabbed the final rebound as time expired after Mikal Bridges’ block sealed the win, but just the rookie being on the court in those final moments was huge for him.
“I still got to work on a lot of things. I learned a lot today,” Hukporti said of his performance. “I’ll learn from my mistakes and keep going.”
Thibodeau had some constructive criticism for his rookie but was overall pleased with how Hukporti and the bench stepped up with the team shorthanded.
“Ariel came in, gave us great minutes. We needed all those guys,” he said. “I thought the third quarter was pretty good [for Hukporti] and going into the fourth we had some rough minutes there at the start. We have some stuff we could clean up.”
The Knicks’ next game is Sunday against these same Nets so it’s unclear whether Towns will be back by then. But even if he is, Hukporti’s performance on Friday must give Thibodeau confidence to go back to his rookie in the future if needed.
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