Knicks center Joakim Noah made it back, but frontcourt mate Kristaps Porzingis took a seat. It’s always something.
During player introductions, form was broken when the Knicks’ starting center was introduced for the first time as a Knick as being from “Hell’s Kitchen’’ instead of from the University of Florida.
It was a nice touch for Noah’s Knicks debut, though that touch didn’t carry through to the game. A rusty Noah, a native New Yorker, blew a chippy layup, blew a dunk and got torched by former Florida teammate Al Horford. Noah, battling hamstring and ankle issues, finished with five points and five rebounds in 16 minutes in the Knicks’ 119-107 loss to the Celtics.