PHILADELPHIA — Isaiah Hartenstein returned to the court Thursday night and emphasized that his main goal of winning was achieved, but he also said he left the arena “a little frustrated” with game time after deviating from his reinforcement plan. the center said. post.
Hartenstein, who had missed the past three games with an Achilles tendon injury, played less than 11 total minutes on zero shots in the 110-96 win over the Sixers.
Hartenstein told the Post it was supposed to be under 21 minutes.
This was his first game since Feb. 8, when he aggravated a troublesome Achilles tendon injury.
“It felt good. It was a little frustrating not being able to reach my specific requests. So it was a little frustrating,” Hartenstein said. “But still, day in and day out. It felt good. So we’ve got to keep building. And hopefully we can hit the one-minute mark in the next game.”
Thibodeau played with Hartenstein for the first six minutes of the first quarter and the first five minutes of the third.
He was benched for the entire second and fourth quarters.
“That was the only thing that was a little frustrating from a build-up standpoint. But we won the game,” Hartenstein said.
During long stretches outside of games, the 25-year-old tried to keep warm by jumping up and down on the sideline.
“We need to build it up gradually,” he said. “I think it would be difficult to go there after 10 o’clock.” [minutes] It quickly rises to 30th place. But we’ll see the next few games. ”
The most recent deterioration occurred at MSG against the Mavericks, when Hartenstein landed hard after a floater and was stepped on by Dwight Powell.
It was the second time in less than a month that he had to miss multiple games due to Achilles tendon pain.
“It’s frustrating, it always is. We’re not afraid of it popping up,” he said. “The Knicks are doing a good job, we’re testing a lot. The strength is there. We’re not afraid that it’s going to blow up or anything.”
“I don’t know if you’ve ever had tendonitis, but it’s like tendonitis,” he added.
The Knicks needed to fill two roster spots Thursday to meet league regulations, and they did so by signing two familiar faces from the G League, Jacob Toppin and Daquan Jeffries.
Both are on 10-day contracts, giving them five games, including Thursday’s game against Philadelphia, before being waived or re-signed.
Their deal replaces Taj Gibson, who was released after his second 10-day contract expired during the All-Star break.
The Knicks still have a chance to bring Gibson back before the playoffs, but the 38-year-old Brooklynite has struggled in the last few games, missing 11 consecutive field goals.
