Miles McBride’s first game back since mid-February surgery for a sports hernia left the Knicks holding their collective breath.
McBride was doubtful to return and did not after leaving the court for the locker room midway through the third quarter of Sunday’s 111-100 loss at the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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Luguentz Dort’s collision with McBride during their race for a loose ball has the Knicks (48-27) in wait-and-see mode entering Tuesday’s 8 p.m. game at the Houston Rockets.
“I haven’t talked to medical yet, so I don’t know how bad it is,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said, according to the New York Post’s Stefan Bondy. “But it’s tough. He’s worked his tail off to be back.
“And I don’t think he made a shot in the first half, but he gave us a lift. You felt his presence. It made us deeper. And because of the foul trouble we had, we were a little shorthanded in that second half, and it was part of the reason they were able to pull away, too.”
McBride was scoreless on 0-of-3 shooting but grabbed a rebound, dished an assist and blocked a shot in 11 minutes off the bench against the NBA-best Thunder (59-16).
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Prior to his Sunday return, he last played Jan. 27 in New York’s 103-87 win over the Sacramento Kings.
McBride entered Sunday with averages of 12.9 points and 2.8 assists in 28 minutes through 35 games (14 starts).