NEW YORK _ It was only Game 4 of a long season, but it already felt like a must-win.
Two nights prior the crowd booed the Knicks at the Garden, and the sense of restlessness and doom had already been cast over the campaign. Much of it stemmed from last season's collapse into uncompetitive still being fresh on the mind.
The other was part was how poor the Knicks looked in their first three games, especially offensively, with no identity and no defense. Again, it was too reminiscent of last season. Same coach, same star-less roster, same problems.
But Bobby Portis gave that narrative a break in Monday's 105-98 victory over the Bulls.
The forward dropped 28 points against his former team, including two 3-pointers in the final two minutes that turned the tides. Portis shot 10-for-14 overall with 11 rebounds in 29 minutes, by far his best outing after signing a two-year, $31 million deal. His trey with 1:47 remaining gave the Knicks (1-3) their first lead of the game, and he buried another open one from the corner 40 seconds later.
The Bulls (1-3) are rebuilding and beatable. So on one hand, the Knicks simply handled their business. On the other hand, this game had an ugly start for New York and could've snowballed in a bad way.
The Knicks trailed by 18 after the first quarter while scoring just 15 points and shooting 27 percent. They continued to lack ball movement and were careless with the ball.
Frank Ntilikina replaced Dennis Smith Jr. in the rotation as the backup point guard and went scoreless on six shots over 30 minutes. Smith Jr. is out indefinitely while grieving the death of a close family member. Then starter Elfrid Payton suffered a sore hamstring and was pulled Monday after 21 minutes.
The Knicks were poor at home last season (also on the road), and Fizdale said playing at the Garden adds pressure. They were embarrassed in the home opener over the weekend by the Celtics. On Monday, though, Portis and RJ Barrett (19 points, 40 minutes) satisfied the thirsty crowd.
At the end, the fans chanted for the new acquisition: "Bob-by Portis."
