Mitchell Robinson sprained his ankle in his second game back with the New York Knicks on Friday, but that didn’t stop him from looking like the dominant presence he was early in the season. Robinson had 12 rebounds, seven of which came on the offensive glass, in the Knicks’ 130-126 loss to the San Antonio Spurs. His work on the glass was reminiscent of his status as the league’s top second-chance creator before he suffered an ankle injury on Dec. 8.
Sure, he was partly responsible for Spurs center Victor Wembanyama going out and scoring a career-high 40 points, but all in all, the 25-year-old big man’s performance looked like he hadn’t lost 50 straight games. The Knicks will need a strong inside game if they want to compete for a championship in a high-level Eastern Conference.