Mitchell Robinson was on the floor when the Knicks opened the series Wednesday night, and that was the whole story. After a week of questions about his right hand, Robinson played 13 minutes in New York’s 105-95 Game 1 win over the Spurs at Frost Bank Center, giving the Knicks a rotation piece they had been unsure they would have.
He finished with two points and six rebounds, scoring on an alley-oop over Luke Kornet. For a player who had surgery for a fracture of the fifth metacarpal in his right hand between the conference finals and the Finals, simply being available mattered, and Robinson said he never doubted he would get there. “Nah, I didn’t have no doubt in my head,” he said. “I’ve been here eight years. There was no way I was gonna miss this.”
That is why his name was searched Wednesday. Robinson had been listed as questionable before tipoff, and his return came after the Knicks had spent days being careful about what they would say and what they would not. The team had made clear his injury did not happen in a game or practice, but it still has not explained how it did happen. reported the injury occurred at his home, leaving the basic question about the setback unanswered even as Robinson was cleared to play.
Mike Brown said he did not think Robinson was limited, and the box score backed that up in part. Brown said he needed to watch the tape, but added that Robinson “caught a lob,” remained “a vertical threat,” and was “pretty good” on defense while trying to rebound and keep opponents off the glass. Robinson, asked how it felt, said, “It was straight,” then added, “It was alright. We’ll see how it is tonight.”
Wednesday was also the first time Robinson had spoken to the media since the conference finals, which only sharpened the attention around his return. The Knicks got what they wanted for Game 1: a healthy-looking Robinson, 13 useful minutes and no visible setback. What they still do not have is the one detail that would close the loop on the injury itself, and for now that is the part of the story that remains locked away.
A fan also ran onto the court and tried to take a selfie with Victor Wembanyama before security removed him, but the night belonged to Robinson’s return — not because it answered every question, but because it answered the one the Knicks needed most in the moment.
