The Knicks went through their customary postgame victory celebration, slapping fives. Ron Baker joined in, and coach Jeff Hornacek thought the guard was nuts.
Baker had left the 111-95 victory over the Nets in the first quarter with a right shoulder injury, a possible dislocation.
“He said he felt something, he didn’t hear anything, he said, so I don’t know what that means,” Hornacek said. “It looked like it had been dislocated because he was kind of holding it down, so at the end of the game in the locker room they go around giving fives, and he gave a five and I said, ‘Wait, which shoulder was that that you hurt?’ ” Hornacek said.
“And he goes the right one, and I said, ‘Well, don’t give a five with that shoulder, give it with the other one,’ so hopefully we get some good news tomorrow.”
Baker was inadvertently kicked by the Nets’ DeMarre Carroll after playing just 38 seconds and was helped to the locker room. X-rays appeared negative, and he’ll go for an MRI exam Wednesday.
“He won’t be going on the trip [to Boston and Milwaukee],” Hornacek said. “Hopefully it just maybe came out slightly or whatever, but we’ll find out more [Wednesday] with the MRI. They didn’t see anything on the X-ray.”
Hornacek did not get overly pumped at the two-game winning streak. Now if the Knicks can make it three in a row with a win in Boston Wednesday …
“The important thing is if you can string three, four, five in a row and then all of a sudden you can make some movement,” the coach said. “By winning one and losing one, winning two, losing a couple that keeps you right in that middle ground. For us we have to have a stretch where somewhere we can rattle off four, five in a row to get us back into things. So it’s a start [Wednesday] if we can somehow come out of that with a win that will be more important than tonight’s win.”
Yup, it’s that time of the NBA year players and coaches dread: The days before the trading deadline.
“I got one piece of advice for every player in the league except LeBron [James], KD [Kevin Durant], Steph [Curry], James Harden and Anthony Davis. Keep your phone on,” Knicks guard Jarrett Jack said. “That’s it. You never know. You’ve seen crazy things. You’ve seen franchise guys get dealt. I remember Deron Williams was top of his position. I remember him being moved. You never know. Who would have thought Paul George would have gotten moved? You’ve seen crazy things happen in this business. So to avoid the surprise of it all, have your phone on, be ready.”
Kristaps Porzingis voiced his hope the Knicks are buyers and make a push to the playoffs, but many others see the Knicks as possible sellers by the 3 p.m. Feb. 8 trade deadline. So until then, some guys will be walking on eggshells.
“It’s always hard on players. The question is always out there. All we can do as a coach and organization is tell them, ‘Hey, you never know what’s going to happen,’ ” Hornacek said.
While the Knicks explore the near-impossibility of trading Joakim Noah, another one of their centers is following the transaction entries closely.
“Of course I pay attention to that,” said Willy Hernangomez, who went from building block to knick-knack. “It’s only a couple days more than a week for the trading deadline. Like I said a couple times, I’m rooting for everything. I’m working to be ready. I want to play. And I’m not playing as much as I want. Whatever happens, happens. I can’t control it. The only thing I can control is working hard every day, put my effort in on the court and off the court. Help my teammates in any way. I’m open for anything.”
The Knicks had two minor injuries beforehand: forward Lance Thomas sprained his right thumb in practice Monday. His thumb was heavily taped. And Enes Kanter was showing the stitches in his mouth after taking a shot from Doug McDermott, also in Monday practice.
“I can’t be a lip model,” Kanter said. “I told Doug, ‘you owe me some rebounds.’”
Enes Kanter was asked, in light of Kevin Love’s broken hand, if he would want to be on Team LeBron for the All-Star Game.
“I might ask for a trade,” joked Kanter, who has had a running feud with LeBron James all season.