The Knicks welcomed a win and, more importantly, welcomed a major contributor back.
Isaiah Hartenstein, who had missed a rare two straight games, returned and looked like himself in the Knicks’ 125-109 victory over the Heat at the Garden on Saturday.
Hartenstein finished with four points and six rebounds in 16 minutes, clearly building up after his brief time on the bench.
The big man 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.
Hartenstein was hampered by the same left Achilles last season but pushed through.
Before the game, Tom Thibodeau said it’s possible this injury is one Hartenstein will have to manage.
“Where you are in the season, virtually every player is dealing with something right now,” the head coach said. “But we’re not going to put him in harm’s way.”
Jericho Sims and Precious Achiuwa played well when pressed into action.
The Knicks’ center depth has been a strength and has needed to be with Mitchell Robinson (ankle surgery) out since early December.
There is still no firm timetable on Robinson’s return.
Achiuwa stepped up Saturday, when he played 31 minutes and battled underneath throughout with Bam Adebayo.
Achiuwa finished with four points, 10 rebounds, two blocks and a steal.
Overall, he was a plus-19, looking more and more comfortable with his new team.
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.”
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