Venom Victory. It is the best kind. It’s rough, but this is the Garden.
Fans unleashed their hate on Kristaps Porzingis as the Knicks finally came together on their home court Thursday night in a pulsating 106-103 victory over the Mavericks.
Give the Garden a villain to boo after so many years of frustration under Jim Dolan and this place comes alive.
The fans were at the top of their negative game and you can be sure a lot of this was transference of anger because Knicks fans have been so beaten down, but on this night, getting a “traitor’’ back on their floor engaged the New York passion.
“KP sucks!’’
That was the calling card the sellout Garden crowd of 19,812 screamed at Porzingis, who was making his first return since his messy exit from the city that drafted him. This all started in 2017, when Porzingis blew off his exit interview with Phil Jackson. His exit would come with his trade to the Mavericks.
During the national anthem, some voices screamed, “Traitor!’’ and much worse.
When the night was done, Porzingis stood tall and said, “I really didn’t hear that’’ of the anthem screams. He heard everything else.
“It was pretty loud,’’ said Porzingis, who did not score in the fourth quarter. “It sucks that we didn’t get the win. Their fans are really passionate, of course, and it was no different tonight.’’
Was it fair since he was traded, forced or otherwise?
“I don’t know if it is fair or not — it’s what they know. It’s what they’ve heard. They’re fans,’’ Porzingis said. “I don’t really think about that too much. It is what it is. We came here to win a game. We’re frustrated that we didn’t get it done. They played good basketball. They got the crowd into it from the beginning. They hit some big shots. They played well. They had high energy throughout the game. So it’s a tough one for us.’’
Asked if the negative noise was even louder than anticipated, Porzingis gave a knowing smile and said, “It was loud. It was cool. It’s good.’’
“I love the city,’’ Porzingis said. “I miss it. It was cool to be back to play here at the Garden. It’s not that big of a deal. I knew it was going to be like this. I was excited to come back. I don’t think about it too much. I’m happy. It was emotion. It would suck to play if there was no cheering or booing. It was cool. I enjoyed it.’’
He took the heat.
Porzingis came in for a flying put-back dunk on a long Luka Doncic miss to end the third quarter to tie the score at 87. The Knicks kept battling and the crowd kept chanting, “KP sucks!” He never scored again as he finished with 20 points.
With the score tied at 101, the Knicks needed someone to step up and Marcus Morris did, draining a 3 with 13.2 seconds remaining as they hung on for the win.
For a team that was blown out by Cleveland on Sunday night, this was a turnaround Garden performance.
The moment Porzingis came out for the pregame layup line, Knicks fans let him have it. At first he smiled, but it was clear by much of his first-half performance he was shaken by the boos and the screams of “Traitor!’’
These Knicks, who really have no identity, were at least energized and that made a difference.
Porzingis did not score a field goal in the first quarter. At one point he headed toward the Knicks bench during a timeout before breaking an old habit.
The incredible Doncic (33 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds) said of the reaction to Porzingis, “It was really tough for him. The way he handled it, he is just so professional. I don’t think he deserved it. He gave a lot to the Knicks. They booed him at the draft. I don’t think he deserves this, but he handled it very professional and I am really proud of him.’’
Porzingis was supposed to be a building block for the Knicks.
Now he is a villain. The Garden got its revenge on Thursday night.
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