Frank Ntilikina was one of the last players on the court Thursday at Knicks practice, and appeared to be running and cutting with ease as he moved through drills.
But the second-year guard may still need a few more days before he returns to game action after spraining his left ankle last Friday in Los Angeles.
“I feel better,” Ntilikina said. “I feel better every day and making improvements. So I’m happy about that. I was able to do some workouts, drills where I was moving pretty good. We’re going to see how it is the next few days, if it makes more improvements.”
Ntilikina called himself “doubtful” for the Knicks’ return to the Garden on Friday against the Pacers. He is getting treatment daily, but said he could still feel the injury during practice.
“Yeah, it’s still here,” said Ntilikina, who is averaging six points and 2.5 assists per game. “Now is the difficult part where you have to go through the last pains and stiffness. That’s the goal for the next few days. We’re going to see.”
While the Frenchman said the Knicks’ Jan. 17 game in London is important, and he would like to be back by then, he is focused on returning to any game as quick as he can.
“As a player and a competitor, you hate missing games,” said Ntilikina, who has missed the past two. “You hate being on the side of the court and not being able to help your teammates. Obviously you’re doing the job of cheering and giving advice as much as you can do on the side of the court, but you want to be on the court.”
Enes Kanter and David Fizdale were both missing from practice Thursday.
Kanter, who was involved in trade speculation Wednesday in a potential swap of expiring contracts with the Kings and Zach Randolph, was at the facility but did not practice because of an illness, the team said. He is listed as questionable for Friday.
Fizdale, meanwhile, was absent because of a personal matter, the Knicks said.