Knicks' Kristaps Porzingis: Rusty but explosive in return

Porzingis (Achilles) came off the bench Thursday, tallying 15 points (6-11 FG, 3-3 FT), five rebounds, two assists and one steal across 29 minutes during a 113-110 loss to the Wizards.

Analysis:

After a four-game absence due to a sore left Achilles, Porzingis was eased back into action off the bench, as coach Jeff Hornacek stuck with the same lineup that led the Knicks to victory over the Celtics one night earlier. Porzingis still saw something resembling a full workload, and while he didn't have a sensational stat line, he contributed one of the game's top highlights with a sky-scraping put-back dunk midway through the fourth quarter. It appears Porzingis is feeling healthy again, but in order to avoid strain on the Achilles, the Knicks may look to manage the big man's minutes a little more carefully than they had earlier in the season. He'll likely return to the starting five Saturday against the Suns and could see most of his run at center with Joakim Noah (ankle) expected to be sidelined again.