This is the game-altering version of Mitchell Robinson the Knicks and their fans have been waiting for since he returned a few weeks ago from December ankle surgery.
The former starting center received multiple standing ovations from the MSG crowd during what teammate Isaiah Hartenstein called Robinson’s “best game of the season” with an impactful performance at both ends in the Knicks’ Game 1 victory over the Sixers.
The 7-footer finished with eight points, 12 rebounds (seven offensive), a plus-20 rating and four blocked shots in 30 minutes.
It marked his most playing time since he logged 32 minutes on Dec. 1.
“I felt more energized. The crowd helped a lot. Home court, their energy helped us out a lot, so just went out there and played hard,” Robinson said. “This is the playoffs. It’s a dogfight. You gotta go out there and just, you gotta fight for your life.”
Tom Thibodeau went with a three-man bench Saturday night, and that trio shifted the game in the Knicks’ favor in the second quarter.
The threesome of Robinson, Miles McBride and Bojan Bogdanovic outscored Philly’s bench 26-7 during a first-half turnaround — and 42-7 for the game.
Perhaps more important than the offensive output was Robinson’s stellar work at the defensive end, including several of those minutes guarding hobbled reigning MVP Joel Embiid (29 points).
“So the whole month of April, we looked at, ‘OK, he’s gotta work his way back,’ ” Thibodeau said of Robinson. “Obviously when you’re out as long as he’s been, he’s done a great job putting the work into it.
“In each game, you can see his timing is coming around. … To be able to battle and be physical, move his feet and just anchor the defense, the blocked shots, the offensive rebounding is huge.”
Robinson, who had averaged 15.5 minutes in 10 late-season appearances following December ankle surgery, played 14 consecutive minutes off the bench bridging the first two quarters and then the entirety of the final period to reach 30 minutes for the first time in nearly five months.
“Really? S–t,” Robinson said. “Yeah, this whole week, that’s what we were preparing for. It showed tonight.”
Robinson threw down a key dunk and registered two blocks in the first half, and he departed to a standing ovation when starter Isaiah Hartenstein replaced him with about two minutes left in the second quarter.
He also was cheered wildly again after earning a jump ball with a tie-up of Embiid with both crashing to the floor late in the fourth quarter.
The 40 percent free-throw shooter drew another loud roar when he sank a pair from the line with 37.1 seconds remaining.
This is the kind of two-way impact Robinson had in the first round last year against the Cavaliers, when he and Hartenstein dominated Cleveland’s two bigs, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s a dogfight. You gotta go out there and play hard,” Robinson said. “You have to. Like, who wants to go home?”
