NEW YORK _ Kristaps Porzingis had the Garden buzzing, the Knicks bouncing all over the floor and Joakim Noah sprinting off the bench and to halfcourt to give Porzingis a running chest bump after a 3-pointer.
Porzingis gave the fans and his teammates a show on Wednesday night. He poured in a career-high 35 points to lead the Knicks to a 105-102 victory over the Pistons at the Garden. Porzingis was serenaded with loud chants of "M-V-P" in the fourth quarter.
As Phil Jackson is embroiled in controversy for using the word "posse" in reference to LeBron James' business partner, the player he was criticized for selecting in the 2015 NBA draft continues to make the Knicks president look good.
Porzingis is considered the future of the Knicks, but he's showing he might be their best player right now.
"He's growing day by day, not just his size but his ability to play," Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek. "You see the whole package. I thought he was great."
Everything Porzingis did was cheered on Wednesday night, every rebound, whenever he got the ball. After a key fourth-quarter block that brought the crowd to its feet, Porzingis slapped five with a couple of courtside fans as he ran down the court.
But the Knicks, who led by 12 midway through the fourth and 11 with 4:33 to go, had to sweat this one out.
The Pistons got within 104-102 with 31.7 seconds left after back-to-back 3-pointers by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Ish Smith.
Carmelo Anthony missed a baseline jumper, but Courtney Lee got the long rebound and passed it to Derrick Rose. He was fouled with 3.6 seconds left and made one of two to give the Knicks a three-point lead.
Out of the timeout, it appeared the Knicks' plan was to foul before the Pistons could take a game-tying three-point shot. But Caldwell-Pope got the shot off clean. It just didn't drop.
Porzingis, who scored 29 points twice last year as a rookie, shot 13-for-22, was 3-for-7 from 3-pointer and had seven rebounds.
"He's just scratching the surface of what he's going to become," Hornacek said. "He's going to be fun to watch."
Anthony finished with 22 points and Rose 15 for the Knicks (5-6). Noah, who was benched in the second half of Monday's win over Dallas, added 15 rebounds and seven points.
Caldwell-Pope led Detroit with 21. Long Island's Tobias Harris added 19 and 10 rebounds.
Porzingis' full repertoire was on display as the second-year big man scored from inside and out, with dunks and from deep. Porzingis' versatility really was on display during one third-quarter possession. He front-rimmed a three-pointer, chased down the miss, couldn't convert inside and then dunked his second offensive rebound.
Earlier in the game, Porzingis ran the floor after a defensive stand, took a Brandon Jennings' lob, threw it down and was fouled. Porzingis landed awkwardly, but he hopped right up with a smirk on his face and completed the three-point play.
Hornacek sat Noah for the entire second half in Monday's win over the Mavericks. Playing smaller and quicker worked for the Knicks that night. But the Knicks coach said it's not something he will use all the time. He felt more comfortable with Noah on 6-11, 279-pound Andre Drummond than Porzingis.
"He's guy that is going to play hard every play," Hornacek said, referring to Noah. "That's why we love him. He can do that for us. There's a lot of talk of the offensive side but really _ we don't care about that. He'll get his eight, 10 points off of hopefully our guys penetrating, dumping it to him and getting easy shots."
Noah was much more active than on Monday night. He had nine rebounds in the first quarter. But Porzingis was the one who really stood out in the first half.
He scored 25 points _ nearly half of the Knicks' total _ and led them to a 54-49 advantage at the break.
Porzingis was efficient. He shot 9-for-12, including 2-for-3 on 3-pointers. Some of his best work was done with the second unit.
Hornacek didn't stagger a starter with the subs to open the second quarter and the reserves gave up six quick points. After a timeout, Porzingis was inserted and he scored the Knicks' next 10 points, as they turned a four-point deficit into a 39-35 lead.
Porzingis' last two baskets were assisted on by Jennings, who is always looking for the Knicks' second-year phenom. Jennings then assisted on the Knicks' next two buckets, a Justin Holiday three-pointer and Kyle O'Quinn layup, as they extended the lead to 44-37.
The Knicks opened an 11-point lead early in the third, but the Pistons cut it to 64-59 on a Harris basket. The Knicks answered with seven consecutive points, five of them from Anthony. He gave the Knicks a 71-59 lead with a 3-pointer right before the shot-clock buzzer.
