Fair warning: If you texted Enes Kanter on Monday to tell him what a great job he did, there is a very high likelihood he won't get back to you. Don't get offended. It's a sportsmanship thing.
"People are texting my phone and saying congrats and whatever," the Knicks center said after what was likely the best overall game of his career. "I'm probably not going to text most of them back because who cares if I get 50 points, 50 rebounds? The state, the whole New York State, they want to see the playoffs. If my numbers are not going to put us in the playoff spot."
That might seem extreme, but it's an attitude like this that allowed Kanter to face one of the best centers in the game in Joel Embiid and come out looking like the superior player. He had 31 points, two points shy of a career high, and matched a career high with 22 rebounds and played a team-high 35:58 in Monday's 105-98 loss to the 76ers. Half of his rebounds were offensive, to boot.
Kanter is only the fourth player to have at least 30 points and 20 rebounds in an NBA Christmas Day game (the tradition began in 1947), according to Elias Sports Bureau. The other three are Hall of Famers Bob Lanier, Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, who did it three times.
The last player to have a 20-20 game on Christmas Day was also a Hall of Famer, Moses Malone, then with the Washington Bullets, in 1986, also against the 76ers.
The Knicks haven't seen numbers quite like those since the Patrick Ewing era.
"Enes is always intense and active," coach Jeff Hornacek said, adding that he looks fully recovered from the bad back that hobbled him. "He's springy on his feet and quick to jump. A lot of time, we want the ball to drop below the rim and jump and get it, and he jumps ahead of it. He was a man on a mission getting those boards."
Kanter has quickly become a fan favorite in his first year on the team, far outstripping his teammates in a crowded five spot, jawing with LeBron James after James went after Frank Ntilikina, and generally being a spark on and off the court.
"Enes had an amazing game," Kristaps Porzingis said. "He's so physical down there. Everybody knows, he's a great offensive rebounder. He does it every game and he plays hard and he does the dirty work a lot of the time for us and a lot of times, when we're shooting from the outside, we're glad we have a rebound guy in Enes who can clean that up. He did what he could for the team. I know he's a guy that you can trust 100 percent that he's going to give his all. I enjoy playing with Enes a lot."
Got that straight? Enes Kanter: good rebounder, good teammate, terrible texter. The Knicks will take it.
O'Quinn OK. After missing practice Sunday with an illness, Kyle O'Quinn was given the OK to play. He was also dealing with a calf strain. He had four points and three rebounds.
