Smith rusty in his return to action

CHICAGO — Weaving Dennis Smith Jr. back into the mix would seem a case of taking a step back to move two steps forward.

That’s how it played out Tuesday at the United Center, where a rusty Smith Jr. played a surprisingly high 14 minutes with a performance that could be expected after an extended layoff to mourn the sudden passing of his stepmother.

Smith’s ledger was brutal — scoreless on 0-for-3 shooting, with three turnovers and a minus-22 — in a 120-102 loss to the Bulls. Tied at 85 after three, Fizdale kept Smith in the game and the Bulls ran the Knicks out of the arena.

“I actually didn’t think his minutes were as bad,’’ Fizdale said. “I know his plus-minus might be what it says. That may not be the truth. Your plus-minus is a fiveman. I thought he played with great pace, great intensity. For a guy in his first game back after gone for 12 days I was really happy with his effort.’’

The Knicks may be best off to have Smith get back into shape with a G-League game or two, but they always seem against such a scenario.

Smith attempted to push the pace and had one nice feed for a Taj Gibson dunk. But defensively he was still a step slow.

“It’s a lot of pressure,’’ Smith said. “I’m trying to add speed to the game. I know my rhythm is going to come back [but] it’s going to take time. I’m grateful to be playing.

“My wind felt pretty good. My second wind was pretty good. I have to make sure I take care of my body. My body isn’t used to an NBA game after [two weeks].’’

The Knicks trailed 60-54 at halftime but were hurt by Fizdale’s attempt to ease Smith back into the mix. After Smith got into the game, the Bulls closed the first quarter on a 12-0 run as the Knicks fell behind 30-22.

Smith, the former Maverick, was in a bad way before he left the team, struggling with his jump shot.

“I had to go back and watch same old tapes of a couple of my games in the league [in Dallas],’’ Smith said. “Just a little bit of reassurance seeing what I was doing well in those good games. Adding to speed in the game helps me.’’

The Mavericks enter the Garden on Thursday. Talk about pressure, facing his old team for the first time.

“I’m looking forward to win a home game,’’ Smith said. “That’s what I’m focused on. A lot of guys I’m still close to on that team. They’re going to come out and compete and I’m going to do the same thing.’’