NEW YORK — Frank Ntilikina emerged off the bench Saturday night with 3:43 remaining in the third quarter, the Knicks down 15 to the Nets and desperate. He hadn’t played in over a week, mothballed by David Fizdale as the coach shifted lineups and priorities, left only to watch as his minutes were stripped away. In a win over Milwaukee and a close loss to the Wizards, he had not been worthy of cracking the rotation. In a blowout loss in Boston, he was left out even in garbage time because he was still considered a rotation player.



But the Knicks needed to change course against Brooklyn, needed some kind of spark on a listless night. So here came Ntilikina and a feisty, if incomplete, comeback. It had taken a while, but the second-year guard had gotten in.



Sunday night, however, Ntilikina did more than just garner minutes and spare moments. He had one of the best games of his young career. After a barren first half, he scored 18 points in the second half. He...