Allonzo Trier is starting to perform again like the player who was such a bright spot over the season’s first two months. The undrafted rookie from Arizona keyed a fourth-quarter comeback Tuesday night, scoring 12 of his 18 points in the final stanza of the Knicks’ 108-103 victory over the Magic at the Garden.
Trier was part of a huge 75-point night from the bench, and has scored at least 18 points in three of his past five games, giving the Knicks needed punch in reserve. Before this stretch, Trier had to failed to reach double figures in seven of eight contests.
His jumper with 4:30 left cut the Knicks’ deficit to two and he then set up Mitchell Robinson on an alley-oop to pull them even at 100 with 4:00 left.
“Just be aggressive, be in attack mode, go at the guy who was in front of me,” Trier said of his mindset. “I was able to get some space, and that’s all I need to operate one-on-one.”
Frank Ntilikina, who hasn’t played in a month because of a groin injury, will not return to practice on Wednesday and is iffy for the upcoming road trip that begins Sunday in Los Angeles against the Clippers. The Knicks seem in no rush to have Ntilikina back as Dennis Smith Jr. and Emmanuel Mudiay are manning the point.
“He started running [on Tuesday],’’ coach David Fizdale revealed. “I don’t think they’re ready to have him hitting and sliding with people against him.’’
Whenever he comes back, Ntilikina is likely slated for off-the-ball work. The Knicks began experimenting with that late last season. It’s not Ntilikina’s preferred position and he is looking more like a defensive wing specialist than a future starting point guard with his lack of creativity and 5.9 ppg scoring average.
“I’ll put them all out there together,’’ Fizdale said of a healthy Smith, Mudiay and Ntilikina trio. “That was the good part for Frank is that I’ve played him so many different positions that he knows every bit of our offense, he understands our defense from all the places. He’s much more adaptable than the other two guys because he’s done all of those positions. I even played him at power forward a little bit this year against Brooklyn. Frank knows everything we’re doing inside and out.”
Center DeAndre Jordan (sprained left ankle) missed his second straight game. Fizdale doesn’t expect him to be ready to practice Wednesday. … Forward Mario Hezonja (contused left leg) was also out. … Kevin Knox shot 3-of-16 from the field and committed two turnovers in a forgettable evening for the rookie.
