Kuzminskas also suffers blow to face

Lance Thomas needs a mask, and rookie Mindaugas Kuzminskas could have used one in the Knicks’ 108-107 loss to the Hawks on MLK Day at the Garden.

Thomas suffered an orbital fracture Sunday in Toronto after getting elbowed in the face by Jonas Valanciunas early in the second half. Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek said he will be fitted for a mask so he can resume his season, but it could take a week before it’s ready.

Thomas has been cleared of any of the concussion issues that bothered him for a week last season. Thomas has started in place of ailing Kristaps Porzingis. With Thomas out Monday, Kuzminskas got the call, making his first NBA start, and he suffered a blow to the face that caused a bloody scratch under his right eye in the third quarter, forcing him to leave the game for a short while.

Atlanta’s Kent Bazemore hit Kuzminskas on a follow-through after making a pass. Did it affect Kuzminskas, who heard his usual “Kuuuz” chants on his way to 14 points, two steals and five rebounds in career-high 38 minutes?

“It might have helped because it made me angrier,” Kuzminskas said.

Hornacek hinted before the game if Porzingis had suited up, he might have played center. That would have meant Joakim

Noah, who had 17 rebounds, was possibly headed to the bench to start the game and perhaps is in danger of that same fate in Boston on Wednesday.

Porzingis was a late scratch after warm-ups did not go well, and he still is experiencing some stiffness in his Achilles tendon. It was his third straight game missed and sixth overall due to the Achilles.

With Kuzminskas starting, Carmelo Anthony essentially was the power forward and was 10-of-16 in one of his best-shooting outings. Anthony started at power forward during the 2012-13 season when the Knicks won 54 games.