Taj Gibson has been playing moderately since he re-signed with the Knicks in January, but the veteran big man gave the Knicks a defensive force on Sunday night at the Garden.
With pivot Mitchell Robinson off the pitch after surgery on his hand and replacing Nerlens Noel, Gibson faced off against All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns and had an important stop in the final seconds of the Knicks’ 103-99 victory over Minnesota.
With the Knicks ahead by 99-98 and 23.2 seconds remaining, Towns (27 points) missed a short jump.
“Mentally, to be ready, for my teammates, just trying to inspire, trying to do what I have to do,” said Gibson, who was Towns’ teammate with the 2017-19 T’Wolves. “Just not letting KAT stay in the middle. I was with him for a long time to know that he wants to get in the middle of the track and try to throw a racing hook or a float hook.
“It was a struggle. I knew it would happen to him. I was lucky tonight. I just tried to use my body and just fight. “
Previous lottery choice Frank Ntilikina has appeared in just four games this season – and none since he injured his right knee on December 29. He also spent a week alone in his Miami hotel room earlier this month for COVID-19 contact tracking, despite continually negative testing for the virus.
“It was definitely not the best, but it was probably for everyone’s health,” said Ntilikina. “I did my best to just do some exercises in the room. I couldn’t do much. I tried to stay blocked [in], stay focused on the season and each goal. “
The Knicks planned to send little used guards Dennis Smith Jr. to the G-League for the action of the game before being negotiated with Detroit for Derrick Rose, but Tom Thibodeau said “not yet” when asked if such an assignment is being considered for Ntilikina.
Austin Rivers he had only added five minutes in the last five games, but was unavailable on Sunday due to illness.