Bobby Portis wasn’t the only member of the New York Knicks receiving praise for their first victory. Frank Ntilikina received loud ovations from the Garden faithful Monday evening.
Ntilikina went scoreless, 0-6, from the field but that didn’t stop the cheers from raining down. He provided a good defensive tone in the second half as the Knicks stormed back for the win.
Coach David Fizdale was able to give Ntilikina more minutes due to the unfortunate circumstances with Dennis Smith Jr. Fizdale praised the Frenchman with his play stating it was “Fantastic.”
It always seemed like whenever the Knicks tried to get back into the game in the second half the Bulls would answer. That was ultimate Ntilikina started to play lock-down defense on Bull defenders.
Zach LaVine was shut down by Ntilikina in the second half. At one point, LaVine tried to take the game into his own hands but Ntilikina had other thoughts. Ntilikina keeping his defender in front of him was beautiful to watch. If he wasn’t able to do so, the game might not have went in the Knicks favor.
Despite going scoreless from the field, that was a game Ntilikina needs to build upon. The Knicks instilled trust in Ntilikina by picking up his fourth-year option for next season. Fizdale started to show that he’s giving Frank trust by keeping him in for defensive purposes in crunch time.
The Knicks got their first victory of the season due to the performances of RJ Barrett, Portis and Ntilikina. His play was encouraging despite not scoring any points. Some fans may think that Ntilikina wasn’t a key player in Monday’s victory.  But if it wasn’t for his defensive ability at the end of the game, the New York Knicks might still be winless on the year.