Legend of Porzingis grows as Knicks ground Rockets

Saturday's bout was billed as a battle between two of the league's best scorers in James Harden and Carmelo Anthony, but it was New York Knicks rookie Kristaps Porzingis who stole the show.

Porzingis scored 24 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, and recorded seven blocks as he helped the Knicks defeat the Houston Rockets 107-102 at Toyota Center.

The last 20-year-old rookie to match that scoreline was Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal.

Porzingis displayed his full arsenal, with his inside-out game bewildering the Rockets on defense as they threw the book at him.

The young Latvian, however, refused to be stopped. When he had a big man on him, he capitalized on his quickness and range. When Houston matched him with a wing, Porzingis flashed a surprisingly polished set of post moves.

Defensively, Porzingis was a menace around the basket. He looked every bit the part of a 7-foot-3 center as he flew in for a number of weakside challenges to hold Houston to a paltry 47.4 percent shooting in the restricted area.

Porzingis also showed tremendous mental fortitude as he made a number of key plays for the Knicks down the stretch, including a sequence in which he grabbed an offensive rebound off a miss by Anthony and promptly made two free throws to give New York the lead.

On the ensuing play, Porzingis recorded his seventh block of the game as he came out of nowhere to swat Harden at the basket to preserve the victory.

The Knicks' win streak is now at four, and the legend of Porzingis - the little-known Latvian who was famously booed by his team's fans on draft night - is taking America by storm.