This is the game-changing version of Mitchell Robinson that the Knicks and fans have been waiting for since his return from ankle surgery in December a few weeks ago.
The former starting center received multiple standing calls from the MSG crowd for his impactful performance on both ends of Game 1 between the Knicks and the Sixers, which teammate Isaiah Hartenstein called Robinson’s “best game of the season.” received an ovation.
The 7-footer had eight points, 12 rebounds (seven offensive), plus-20 and four blocked shots in 30 minutes.
This marked the most minutes played since December 1st, when he logged 32 minutes.
“I felt like we had more energy. The crowd helped us a lot. Our home court, their energy helped us a lot, so we just went out and played hard.” Robinson said. “This is the playoffs. It’s a dogfight. You have to go out there and fight for your life.”
Tom Thibodeau was on a three-man bench Saturday night, and that trio swung the game in the Knicks’ favor in the second quarter.
The trio of Robinson, Miles McBride and Bojan Bogdanovic outscored Philadelphia’s bench 26-7 at halftime and won the game 42-7.
Perhaps more important than his offensive output was Robinson’s impressive work defensively, including several minutes guarding a limping reigning MVP Joel Embiid (29 points).
“So throughout April we were thinking, ‘Okay, he’s got to go back,'” Thibodeau said of Robinson. “Obviously, even though he’s been out for a long time, he’s given it his all and done a great job.
“In every game, you can see his timing coming up. … To fight and be physical, he needs to move his feet, lock in his defense, block shots and offensive rebounds.”
Robinson, who averaged 15.5 minutes in the final 10 games of the season after ankle surgery in December, played 14 consecutive minutes off the bench in the first two quarters, then played the entire final period, starting nearly five minutes. It reached 30 minutes for the first time in a month. .
“Really? I-I,” Robinson said. “Yeah, we’ve been preparing for that all week. It showed up tonight.”
Robinson hit a key dunk and had two blocks in the first half and departed to a standing ovation when he was replaced by starter Isaiah Hartenstein with about two minutes left in the second quarter.
Also, after getting a jump ball for Embiid’s game-tying goal late in the fourth quarter, both players crashed to the floor, but they were once again greeted with enthusiastic cheers.
The 40 percent free-throw shooter caused another stir when he sank a pair from the line with 37.1 seconds left.
It’s the kind of two-way impact Robinson had in the first round against the Cavaliers last year, when Robinson, along with Hartenstein, dominated Cleveland’s two big players, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley. .
“Yeah, I mean aerial combat. You’ve got to go out there and play hard,” Robinson said. “You have to. For example, who wants to go home?
