Thomas helps Knicks catch a break, finally

Lance Thomas fought plantar fasciitis early in the season then was out for 14 games after suffering a fractured orbital bone. But he is back, and his presence has helped the Knicks’ defense.

“Continue to stay vocal, just be aggressive. Do the things that my teammates expect of me. And just do it at a high level and be consistent,” Thomas said Saturday of what he has done.

With the Knicks, it always is “look for a silver lining.” Thomas may have found one in his fracture: his feet feel fine.

“I don’t feel any of that in my feet,” said Thomas, who scored a season-high 21 points in Friday’s loss in Philadelphia. “So indirectly, this fracture in my face has been a blessing to help give me time to get my feet back under me.”

Coach Jeff Hornacek pointed to the past few games during which the defense has been better — and that coincides with the return of Thomas, who came back from a three-week absence Feb. 12 in the win over the Spurs.

“Maybe it’s because Lance has played a lot more,” Hornacek said. “Really helped our defense.”

Hornacek was asked about his team’s fold jobs late in games. Nothing wrong with the offense. Blame the defense.

“I told these guys the other day, ‘We’ve been scoring five out of eight times.’ The Toronto game, we were scoring five out of eight times. Teams usually score around 48, 49, 50 percent,” Hornacek said. “Well, if we’re scoring five out of eight times late in the game, that’s not bad. We’re giving up seven out of eight.

“Even like [Friday], we didn’t score a couple times. ‘OK, we’ll get it on the defensive end.’ And we didn’t get stops.”

Ex-Knick Brandon Jennings offered a thinly veiled critique of the Knicks after his Wizards debut Friday, when the point guard said he was thrilled to be with a cohesive team — unlike the team he left behind after being waived last week.

“I’m in the same position I was in New York, but just in a better system for me personally and with a team that actually plays together,” Jennings said after a 114106 loss to Toronto, via CSN MidAtlantic.

Center Willy Hernangomez, who missed the past two games

s with a left ankle sprain, is listed as questionable for Sunday, though he said he felt fine after going through a limited practice.

“I feel way better,” Hernangomez said. “My ankle is like normal. I can run. I’m feeling good. So when I try to test myself I’m feeling really good. I think I’ll be OK for tomorrow.”