Kemba Walker got his chance to return to the Knicks rotation and the guard was putting on a show in MSG against the Wizards. Fans were loving every second.
It wasn’t long ago at all that New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau benched veteran guard Kemba Walker and took him out of the rotation. Of course, between working his way back and the lack of available players due to COVID-19, Walker found his way back onto the floor.
And on Thursday night against the Wizards, he was making the absolute most of his opportunities to not lose his spot in the rotation again.
Walker exploded in the first half at Madison Square Garden as he cooked up 28 points on 9-of-14 shooting and 4-of-8 on his 3-point attempts as well. And these weren’t just easy open looks.
For instance, this is how he ended the half for the Knicks to truly send MSG into a frenzy.
Kemba's HOT and it's only halftime 🔥
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 24, 2021
28 PTS
9-14 FG
4-8 3-PT FG pic.twitter.com/EpNVhZJNGi
Kemba Walker cooks Wizards with wild first half: Knicks fans reactions
Needless to say, New York and the NBA world at large were enjoying every second of the Kemba Walker renaissance happening before our eyes.
Kemba walker took it personally
— Dom2K 🌊🏖 (@Dom_2k) December 24, 2021
Idc how many shot attempts it takes. I need this Kemba 50 piece.
— The Knicks Wall (@TheKnicksWall) December 24, 2021
And they tried to bench Kemba…Blasphemy
— Marcelas (@MarcelasHoward) December 24, 2021
kemba walker after beating the washed up allegations pic.twitter.com/PX5ubESYIo
— buckets (@buckets) December 24, 2021
Kemba wasn’t good enough to be in the rotation … why again?
— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) December 24, 2021
Kemba was on the bench for weeks. Come on son lol
— 500 🏎 (@Kameron_Hay) December 24, 2021
Kemba Walker to Thibs tonight pic.twitter.com/aZg8IYQk6P
— RingerNBA (@ringernba) December 24, 2021
Watching Kemba ball out at the Garden 🥲 pic.twitter.com/j3SpHqsN8c
— KNICKS ON MSG (@KnicksMSGN) December 24, 2021
Kemba chants at MSG are a beautiful thing to see
— TA (@talter) December 24, 2021
call kemba walker JK Rowling's Opinions bc he's ruining the wizards
— A Dime Back (@ADimeBack) December 24, 2021
Kemba Walker continued to be the driving force of the offense with his monstrous performance continuing but, unfortunately for Knicks fans, the reinforcements around him weren’t offering all that much.
Throughout college and even at times in the NBA, though, Walker has proven that he lives for the big moments when the team needs to be put on his back. That would certainly be a perfect way to end such a dominant statement performance from the veteran.