As the Knicks take a big, collective inhale regarding Julius Randle, they can allow themselves a breath regarding Isaiah Hartenstein.
Their center, who had missed a rare two straight games, returned and mostly looked like himself in abbreviated spurts of the Knicks’ 125-109 victory over the Heat at the Garden on Saturday.
Randle’s shoulder injury loomed over the proceedings, but coach Tom Thibodeau was happy to see the steady Hartenstein back in the lineup.
A starter since Mitchell Robinson required ankle surgery, Hartenstein contributed four points on two shots and added six rebounds in about 16 minutes.
Precious Achiuwa, who stepped up in Hartenstein’s brief absence, received the majority of time against Bam Adebayo and again played well, grabbing 10 rebounds and blocking two shots.
“I thought [Hartenstein] moved OK, but I liked the way Precious was playing,” Thibodeau said. “So we have good rhythm with that group and just stayed with it.”
Hartenstein had played in 164 straight games — and every one of the Knicks’ games since joining the team last season — before missing wins over the Nets and Nuggets with Achilles tendinopathy.
The injury is the same one that the big man fought through last season.
Despite the recurrence, he sounded optimistic he would not miss more time.
“I’m past it,” Hartenstein said. “It’s like normal tendinitis. It’s nothing like, ‘Oh, it’s the end of the world.’ You just manage it so it’s nothing crazy.”
Hartenstein was not green-lit for the game until a pregame workout that the Knicks’ medical staff apparently was comfortable with. Thibodeau acknowledged that Hartenstein likely will have to manage the Achilles the rest of the way.
“Where you are in the season, virtually every player is dealing with something right now,” Thibodeau said. “But we’re not going to put him in harm’s way.”
Hartenstein said he felt good and called it “a little test” that he feels he passed.
Thibodeau pointed more to Achiuwa’s play than Hartenstein’s Achilles as the reason for the minutes breakdown, but Hartenstein figures to have time to build himself back up.
“Precious did a great job today,” Hartenstein said. “The way he defended and brought energy, that was great and that’s what we needed.”
The game was delayed at halftime when the shot clocks did not appear to be turning on.
The issue was fixed within a few minutes.
Thibodeau on the recent outburst around the NBA, in which Luka Doncic scored 73, Joel Embiid 70 and Devin Booker and Karl-Anthony Towns 62:
“It’s pretty spectacular to see the shotmaking that’s going on. And so I think it makes it exciting, but on the other side of that is all the rule changes have favored the offense.
“In the ’90s, that was probably more so the other way, and then they fixed that. So I like to see a well-balanced game where there’s great defense, great offense. … I think that’s what makes the playoffs exciting because it seems to be there’s more defense being played.”
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra on the Knicks: “They found an identity that’s helping them win games. Defensively, they’ve been physical. They’ve been disruptive. Their offensive pieces seem to fit and bring out the best in this group.”
Among those on Celebrity Row: Yankees captain Aaron Judge.