Kristaps Porzingis scored a career-high 40 points, carrying the New York Knicks back from a 19-point deficit for a 108-101 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Sunday night.
After scoring 15 straight points that spanned the third and fourth quarters, the 22-year-old from Latvia passed to rookie Frank Ntilikina for a 3-pointer that broke a 99-all tie with 1:34 remaining.
Porzingis added eight rebounds and six blocked shots in his seventh 30-point performance in nine games this season, a good glimpse of someone that's definitely welcomed the chance to fill the void created by Anthony's exit.
Ntilikina scored 10 points and seven assists off the bench as the Knicks won for the fifth time in six games after an 0-3 start. Tim Hardaway Jr. had 16 points.
Thaddeus Young scored 18 points and Victor Oladipo had 17 for the Pacers, who led 84-65 with under 2 minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Porzingis, who played after tweaking his left ankle in a 37-point performance Friday night, reeled off nine straight points that made it 84-74 in the opening seconds of the fourth. He scored 24 points over the final 13 minutes of the game.
Young then broke a five-minute stretch in which Indiana failed to make a shot, hitting consecutive 3-point baskets that put them back up 90-74 with 10:02 left in the final quarter.
But it wasn't enough to quiet down the Knicks, who went on a 25-9 run, capped by Porzingis' five straight points, including a 17-foot jumper that evened it at 99 with 2:14 left.
After Ntilikina's 3-pointer made it 102-99, Knicks center Enes Kanter picked up a bad pass by Darren Collison and fed Tim Hardaway Jr. for a layup that made it 104-99 with 1:10 to go.
Oladipo cut the deficit to 104-101 with 32 seconds left in the game, but Lance Thomas' two free throws made it 106-101 to seal the comeback win with 11.9 seconds to play.
Myles Turner added 15 points and Collison had 15 points and 10 assists for the Pacers, who've lost two straight.
The Pacers host New Orleans on Tuesday night.
