No Indy for Hardaway or KP

The Knicks weren’t prepared to play without Tim Hardaway Jr. Most of his teammates weren’t even aware it was a possibility. “Tim was definitely a surprise to all of us. I think even to himself,” forward Michael Beasley said. “But that [injury] bug is going around. It’s hitting hard.” With leadingscorer Kristaps Porzingis already sidelined (ankle/illness), Hardaway unexpectedly missed his first game of the season — a 105- 100 loss to the Magic at Madison Square Garden — with a stress injury to his left shin, which Jeff Hornacek said had been lingering the past few days.

Hardaway and Porzingis will not travel to Indiana for Monday’s game against the Pacers, with the latter “still battling the illness and [sprained right] ankle,” according to Hornacek.

The Knicks coach said Hardaway’s current injury is unrelated to the left foot pain he played through last month, but Hornacek was uncertain whether the current ailment could be a longterm issue.

“We certainly hope not, but we’ll continue to evaluate him and we’ll find out,” Hornacek said. “Tim’s [had] little bumps and bruises all year, but he plays through it. When they told us before the game that he’s not gonna be able to go we had to change plans a little bit.”

In the first season of his second stint with the Knicks, Hardaway has averaged 17.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists, while playing a teamhigh 34.1 minutes per game.

“It was tough,” said point guard Jarrett Jack, who had nine points and seven assists. “We didn’t know anything about it until like literally five minutes before tipoff. We came in and heard what happened. We didn’t even know he had an injury or a lingering issue at all. ... For him to have to miss some time, it’s rough, but we’re gonna rally around him and collectively try and fill that void.”

Enes Kanter said his back is “not 100 percent,” and he still has pain from the injury which sidelined him for three games last week, but the center said he doesn’t plan on missing any more time.

“We’ve got two down, KP and Tim. I don’t care. If I’ve got a broken back, I still want to go out there and play,” Kanter said. “I don’t want to think about my back. I’ll take some pills. I take some painkillers, whatever. I just go out there and play because it’s important. If you want to make the playoffs, it doesn’t matter if you’re hurt or not. If it’s not broken, I want to play.”