Knicks Mitchell Robinson Basks in Return to MSG

For the New York Knicks, it was a throwback showing in both good ways and bad at Madison Square Garden.

Stephen Curry once rose to the occasion for the visiting Golden State Warriors en route to a 114-102 victory over the Knicks. Despite the defeat, it was a celebratory night for Knicks fans gathered, as they were able to take in center Mitchell Robinson's seventh MSG debut, a record among active New Yorkers.

Mar 4, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson (23) looks to shoot the ball against Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) and guards Brandin Podziemski (2) and Stephen Curry (30) during the third quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

"It felt great. After missing 10 months, it was like, finally back at the Garden," Robinson said in video from SNY. "Going out there, putting on a show, you miss it."

Robinson took to MSG hardwood for the first time since late April (Game 1 of the 2024 Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Indiana Pacers) and he was in the New York starting lineup for the first time in 15 months with Karl-Anthony Towns out due to personal reasons.

With a participation ceiling still hovering over him, Robinson scored seven points and pulled in five rebounds in 15 minutes. Though previously confident about getting a bigger workload, he was relatively mum on his ongoing ramp-up, remarking that things are "going good" but that his conditioning as a whole is a "work in progress."

Limited as he may be, the Knicks (40-21) are pleased to have Robinson back on the floor and he has made his presence felt in the early going: he was a team-best plus-11 in his season debut on Friday in Memphis and has earned vital defensive minutes as New York plays up its flair for the dramatics (weekend wins over Memphis and Miami were earned by a combined five points).

Though the Knicks clearly struggled to maintain interior momentum on Tuesday, Robinson has left an undeniable impact that his teammates can't wait to see reach full strength.

"I think just the intimidation factor of guys seeing him at the rim is huge," McBride said in video from SNY. "You've basically got to put two guys on him to box out. We can probably take advantage of him with some corner crashes and things like that."

Time will tell if Robinson's duties are expanded, especially if Towns remains sidelined. New York tips off a five-game road trip on Thursday against the Los Angeles Lakers (10 p.m. ET, TNT).

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