Noah finally the center of attention

NEW ORLEANS — It was a low moment for Joakim Noah – and a telling one about the state of his game — when he was inactive Wednesday night in Chicago.

“I’m not going to lie and tell you not being able to suit up in a place where I played for 10 years doesn’t sting,” he said. “It hurts a lot.”

Just three days later, Noah finally got another chance. And it wasn’t just garbage time. The 33-year-old, whose Knicks stint has been defined by his contract, played the entire fourth quarter and contributed to the 105103 comeback victory over the Pelicans.

Jeff Hornacek said he inserted Noah because the backup center – Kyle O’Quinn – was in foul trouble. The coach said he stuck with Noah because of his defense on New Orleans’ center DeMarcus Cousins.

“He’s a veteran guy and DeMarcus Cousins is a tough guy to guard because of his size,” Hornacek said. “Jo’ has battled those guys for years like that. We felt pretty comfortable about putting him in on them.”

Still, it wasn’t all smooth for Noah. He committed four fouls in his 12 minutes and Cousins dropped 10 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter.

Noah responded with four rebounds and four points, including a dunk to cut New York’s deficit to 6 with 2:45 remaining. He also assisted on Porzingis’ go-ahead jumper in the final 30 seconds.

“It’s been a while. My situation, I’ve been through a lot. What it’s telling me is appreciating every moment I get to play out there,” he said. “To be able to play in the fourth quarter and getting a much-needed ‘W’ and being a part of it, feels great.”

FOUL MOOD

The referees may have listened to Kristaps Porzingis’ complaints.

Two days after he expressed concerns about not getting enough foul calls on his jumpers, Porzingis said he got more favorable whistles in New Orleans.

“I got most of the calls,” said Porzingis, who scored 30 points with eight free-throw attempts. “Not all of them, but most of them that were a little contact on the elbow that can affect my shot. I actually did (Saturday) and that’s a good thing.”

Earlier Saturday after shootaround, Porzingis reiterated his frustrations about officials ignoring the contact on his arm during his shooting release. He nearly picked up a technical foul Thursday in San Antonio, but kept his composure.

“The only thing is I’m getting upset and I don’t want to be the guy who is yelling at the refs,” Porzingis said. “But especially in these games that we want to win and we need to win so bad when all those little details matter and you felt that could’ve been a call and that affects the game so much that my emotions get involved.”

FRANK’S POINT

Jeff Hornacek is not yet ready to start Frank Ntilikina. But that time is coming.

With the Knicks struggling in all facets during their four-game losing streak before Saturday, the coach said he’s increasing Ntilikina’s minutes while “looking at” moving him into the lineup.

“But for now, no,” Hornacek said, adding that there is no timeline for a change. “We’ll just keep looking at it and try to see.”

Ntilikina was coming off one of his best performances in the NBA, notching a career-high 11 assists Thursday in the 119-107 loss to the Spurs. Even though he is the backup behind Jarrett Jack, Ntilikina is often closing games and was averaging more minutes in the fourth quarter (7.8) than any other period.

Still, his offensive deficiencies have been clear for a player shooting just 36 percent before Saturday with a 3.5/1.8 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Both an NBA scout and executive told the Daily News that the 19-year-old is better suited as an off-guard operating without the ball.