New York Knicks News Mix, 9/5/17: Mindaugas Kuzminskas Outshines Kristaps Porzingis, Willy Hernangomez
NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 09: Mindaugas Kuzminskas #91 of the New York Knicks drives past Rondae Hollis-Jefferson #24 of the Brooklyn Nets during the second half at Madison Square Garden on November 9, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

The New York Knicks EuroBasket trio were all in action on Tuesday. For the first time, Kristaps Porzingis wasn’t the best of them.

New York Knicks forward Kristaps Porzingis is the main attraction of EuroBasket 2017. The unicorn is agruably the best player in the tournament, and he’s produced a new highlight reel in every game. On Tuesday it wasn’t Porzingis who stole the show.

It wasn’t even Spanish center Willy Hernangomez who’s led his dominant team with an incredible performance on the boards so far. After today’s win over Croatia, Hernangomez is third in rebounding in the entire tournament.

But Porzingis and Hernangomez were both mediocre today. The unicorn managed just 11 points on 3-of-10 shooting and remained in foul trouble throughout the game. Regardless, Latvia still picked up a win over Russia.

Mindaugas Kuzminskas stole the show from his teammates on Tuesday. The 27-year-old scored 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting in 18:54 off the bench in Lithuania’s blowout win over Ukraine, 94-62.

Kuz’s teammate – Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas – led the squad with 22 points and 14 rebounds. Lithuania improves to 3-1 in group play; tied for first in Group B with Germany.

They clash with the German team – led by Atlanta Hawks point guard Dennis Schroder – on Wednesday.

Hernangomez and Porzingis have Wednesday off before picking things up again on Thursday. Spain takes on Hungary and Latvia goes up against Turkey.

 
I'm ESNY's Executive Editor for EliteSportsNY.com. I cover the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets. Email: chip.murphy@elitesportsny.com Chip Murphy covers the NBA for Elite Sports NY. You can find him on Twitter @ChipperMurphy.