Knicks' Hardaway returns after 20-game absence due to leg injury

Tim Hardaway Jr. returned from a left leg injury to play for the New York Knicks for the first time since Nov. 29. He saw limited minutes off the bench against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday.

Hardaway signed a four-year, $71-million offer sheet with the Knicks as a restricted free agent last summer, which his old team, the Atlanta Hawks, declined to match. Despite heavy criticism of the Knicks for the contract, Hardaway was playing well prior to the injury, averaging a career-high 17.8 points.

His absence has given more run to Michael Beasley, who has enjoyed a renaissance of sorts while Hardaway has been out.