Knicks guard Frank Ntilikina drives around Spurs guard Patty Mills, center, during the second half of an NBA game in San Antonio on Tuesday. Credit: AP/Eric Gay
The Knicks had managed to avoid the troubles and traps of the pandemic for much of the first half of the season. But Tuesday night the NBA’s Health and Safety protocols took away a key player -- sidelining Derrick Rose, an announcement coming just before the Knicks took the court in San Antonio.
With Rose quarantined and Elfrid Payton already sidelined with a hamstring strain, little-used Frank Ntilikina, who had been the only player lost to contact tracing this season for the Knicks, was inserted into the starting lineup.