Josh Hart had barely been in Portland for more than 24 hours when he took the floor at Moda Center on Saturday noon. Just after his standout debut with the Portland Trail Blazers, though, it's more than safe to say Rip City is just as excited about Hart's new future as he is.

Invigorated by the all-around impact of their most prized deadline addition and a raucous home crowd, the Blazers stormed back from a 23-point second-half deficit to beat the New York Knicks 112-103. Hart scored 23 points on 7-of-12 shooting in his first game since being traded to Portland, also playing a key role on the other end of the floor as New York's offense fell apart late.

The Blazers trailed 79-56 with 5:22 left in the quarter after Kemba Walker drained a pair of free throws. They outscored the Knicks 56-24 over the game's remainder, going 21-of-35 from the field and grabbing seven offensive rebounds while forcing Tom Thibodeau's team into 26.4% shooting.

“It was just about getting stops. We knew that third quarter wasn't how this team plays. This team plays full of energy, and that's something that we had to get back to,” Hart said. “The guys that came off the bench did a great job of ending that third quarter, and then we just picked it up in the fourth.”

Anfernee Simons, no surprise, spearheaded the Blazers' furious rally, scoring 22 of his game-high 30 points after intermission. He hit six triples and doled out eight assists versus just two turnovers, too, proving too skilled and explosive for New York to contain off the bounce. Jusuf Nurkic fought his way to 12 points, 20 rebounds and six assists, and Justise Winslow played a similarly pivotal, workman-like role in Portland's win. Ben McLemore's long-range shooting was huge, too.

But the Blazers' second straight comeback victory over an NBA glamour team will be most remembered for Hart's performance, and not just due to his hyper-efficient shooting or stellar plus-minus.

Hart's switchability on defense made a massive difference against Julius Randle. He drained three triples and aggressively attacked close-outs. He played de facto backup point guard with Dennis Smith Jr. joining Damian Lillard on the sideline, comfortably initiating halfcourt offense. He raced the floor in transition for multiple hard-charging rim attacks after grabbing defensive boards, and made several value-add passes on the move.

It was a wildly successful debut for Hart, basically, one that makes it easy to imagine him becoming a long-term fixture in Portland.

“That's something that I've always said that every time I came here, the atmosphere has been crazy,” Hart said of Moda Center “We needed it today, especially with a comeback win like that. It was crazy. I'm definitely gonna love playing here.”

And Blazers fans are definitely gonna love having him.