The Garden chanted “We want Frank!” Interim coach Mike Miller never obliged, because, it turned out, he could not.

Miller said he found out late that Frank Ntilikina was unavailable for the Knicks’ 127-106 loss to the Grizzlies on Wednesday night because his groin flared up again.

“Frank was very much a part of the game plan,” Miller said. “I found out when I was on the bench that he was unavailable due to his groin could not loosen up. He was a big part of the game plan.”

Instead, Miller went to Dennis Smith Jr. as his first point guard off the bench for the second night in a row. Ntilikina never played, though the Knicks could have used his defense as Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant dazzled with 18 points and 10 assists.

Ntilikina missed back-to-back games earlier this month because of a sore groin, but had played seven games since, including three minutes off the bench Tuesday in Charlotte. It was a groin injury that derailed his season last year, forcing him to miss 32 of the final 34 games.

“He felt this a couple days ago,” Miller said. “It’s been something he’s working through. This month, Frank’s been durable. We’ve had 16 games in 28 days. It’s basically playing every other day and a couple of stretches. … I think he’s held up pretty well. He was having trouble, as I was told, getting loose.”

Smith had not played in two straight games before being the primary backup to Elfrid Payton in each of the past two games. He had also recently missed 13 straight games due to an oblique strain.

The sudden change in Smith’s playing time comes just over a week away from the Feb. 6 NBA trade deadline, when he could be on the move again. Smith finished Wednesday’s game with eight points, four turnovers, four assists and two rebounds in 13 minutes.

“We have a lot of guys we can go with,” Miller said. “They’ve all done a great job. We know they want to play. We know they need playing time. But they’ve been professional coming in every day, working. When they’re called on, they go play. Dennis has been good. He’s been professional. He’s been getting himself ready.”

The NBA’s official “Last Two Minute Report’’ stated the referees made the “correct call” in wiping out Marcus Morris’ 3-point basket and potential four-point play and charging him with an offensive foul late in Tuesday’s 97-92 loss in Charlotte.

Whether it’s former coach David Fizdale or Miller, second-year guard Allonzo Trier has been out of the rotation virtually all season — playing in just 20 games, mostly in garbage time.

Asked what has changed since Trier’s successful rookie campaign, Miller said, “We have a good number of guards — a lot of options. He’s had some opportunities. It just hasn’t been real consistent.”

Trier did not play in Wednesday’s loss.

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