SAN ANTONIO — Even before Joakim Noah’s drug suspension for taking a banned, over-the-counter, performance-enhancing supplement, Willy Hernangomez had muscled his way into the starting center picture for next season.
Now it appears a near certainty. Saturday against the Spurs, Hernangomez had a career-high 24 points on 11-of-16 shooting to go along with 13 rebounds in the 106-98 loss.
“He’s getting better and better every game,’’ Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek said. “The experience against this team with LaMarcus [Aldridge], [Dewayne] Dedmon, Pau [Gasol], those are long, long guys. You see how smart a player he is.