The Knicks are using both sides of their two-headed monster at center to combat a hobbled Joel Embiid, and it was Isaiah Hartenstein’s turn to shine in the second half of Game 2 against the 76ers.
Mitchell Robinson received the bulk of the playing time and multiple standing ovations from the MSG crowd with his impactful play off the bench in the Knicks’ series-opening win, but Hartenstein was the big man making the big plays at both ends of the floor in their frenetic Game 2 victory at the Garden.
Hartenstein stormed the lane unimpeded to grab the offensive rebound that resulted in Donte DiVincenzo’s go-ahead 3-pointer with 14 seconds remaining.
The 7-foot-1 center also disrupted Tyrese Maxey’s drive at the other end with seven seconds left to preserve the wild win.
“Go get the ball, just go get the ball,” Hartenstein said about his key offensive board and pass to OG Anunoby, who fed DiVincenzo. “It was just kind of instinct, I feel like sometimes, it’s weird, but stop thinking and just let your game play and then you get stuff like that.
“I just knew at the end we needed any possession possible, so I was just gonna go for it.”
Hartenstein played just 18 minutes in Game 1, with Robinson on the floor for the entire fourth quarter and logging 30 minutes for the first time since before his December ankle surgery.
Even on a balky knee, however, Embiid dominated Hartenstein and Robinson in Monday’s first half, outscoring them 16-0 and outrebounding them 10-1 through two quarters.
But Hartenstein raised his game and netted 10 points in the third quarter and 14 in the second half. He also grabbed seven of his eight rebounds, including four on the offensive glass.
While Embiid finished with 34 points, the reigning league MVP was blanked on the boards after intermission.
“I feel like that’s kind of the player I am,” said Hartenstein, who played 30 minutes — 12 more than Robinson. “I think that’s the kind of players where we all have certain times you need to step up. I was open in that second half and I just took advantage of it.”
Hartenstein’s defensive prowess was highlighted by him interfering with Maxey’s drive to the left of the hoop with the Knicks up one in the closing seconds, which caused Maxey to misfire, before Anunoby sank two free throws for a 104-101 lead.
“I was kind of just timing it,” Hartenstein said. “I thought he was gonna go back to his right. He’s been going right a lot, so I thought he was gonna try to fake left, go back to his right.
“It was timing the right-hand layup, and then he went to his left, so that’s just kind of how it played out.”
