Derrick Rose’s white No. 25 Knicks jersey hung from a coat hanger, pristine and unwrinkled. His Ace bandages were unwrapped and unrolled, still in their place. His locker was undisturbed.

Though the Knicks had taken the Madison Square Garden court Monday night, en route to a 110-96 loss to the Pelicans in what may have been their season’s nadir, Rose did not play. He did not even appear at the arena for the game. No one knew where he was — or at least no one would say.

Just a few minutes before Monday night’s tipoff against New Orleans, the Knicks made a cryptic announcement: Rose would not start because he was not with the team. The Knicks offered no word about where he might be. He had been at the team shootaround that morning but had not shown up for the game.

Afterward, Coach Jeff Hornacek offered no additional information about Rose’s absence, but he did say the Knicks expected Rose to return to the team.