Rookie is playing long game with knee

Frank Ntilikina will sit out his second straight preseason game — Sunday against the Nets — and is still considered day-to-day with a knee bruise, but the 19year-old said he could return to action Monday night against the Rockets.

Ntilikina, who missed all of summer league because of the same injury, said he isn’t concerned the issue will linger much longer.

“It’s going to be all right,” Ntilikina said. “I’m feeling better, better than [Friday]. I did a lot of treatment on my knee. ... This is a very long season, 82 games, so doing stupid things, trying to play even if my knee is not all right is not smart. So, it would be best for me be to be healthy and to be ready for the whole season.”

Ntilikina didn’t do any running during Saturday’s practice, and coach Jeff Hornacek said he’ll determine whether the rookie is ready to come back during Monday’s shootaround.

“We have to look at him moving, and actually practicing,” Hornacek said. “We’re not gonna have guys come out and play in games that aren’t able to practice prior to that. We’ll see how that goes.

“We do have to weigh having an injury stay aggravated and [whether] he can’t perform at his best. It’s gonna be tough enough on him as a young kid in this league.”

In the first preseason game against the Nets, Hornacek

started Ramon Sessions, Tim Hardaway Jr., Doug McDermott, Kristaps Porzingis and Kyle O’Quinn. In Friday’s loss at Washington, Sessions and Hardaway started again, alongside Michael Beasley, Court

ney Lee and Enes Kanter. In the Knicks’ third preseason game, Hornacek plans to use another different starting lineup. Even when the coach finally decides on starters for the regular season, changes could come quickly afterward.

“We’re trying to mix it up, trying to see which guys are gonna work well together,” Hornacek said. “Obviously we have to get there at some point, but for now we’re just trying to figure that out.”