NBA

Trey Burke shows Knicks just how dangerous he could be

DENVER — At least there was Trey Burke.

Certainly this is a season to develop rookie point guard Frank Ntilikina, but Knicks general manager Scott Perry is committed to seeing what he has in Burke, who is just 25 years old and may be a diamond in the rough.

Burke’s fifth game as a Knick was by far his best, despite coming in a 130-118 loss to the Nuggets on Thursday. The former Westchester Knick/Utah lottery bust posted his first double-double since Dec. 5 2014, his second season, posting 18 points with 11 assists and no turnovers. He shot 8-of-12 and hit a buzzer-beater to end the third quarter on a stepback, razzle-dazzle jumper that was pure talent.

Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek wants Burke to be Burke. And he even praised Burke’s ball pressure on defense — on a night the Knicks couldn’t stop anything.

“Coach told me to push the pace, penetrate, make plays, take what the defense gives me,” Burke said. “He knows naturally I’m a scoring point guard. He tells me to be myself. I just took what they gave me tonight.”

Burke was the first point guard off the bench, but Ntilikina still got his 19 minutes. The 19-year-old Frenchman shot 1-of-6 for three points with three assists. With Denver’s prolific attack, Hornacek felt he needed more scoring.

“The game changes a bit … when [Burke’s] out there,” Hornacek said. “With him, KP and shooters, we feel good about that group being out there. He’s got the ability to get us some easy looks on the pick-and-roll, saw he’s able to drive around big guys when they did switch. It puts pressure on the defense.”

Burke liked the offensive flow — even though he’s a newcomer.

“A lot of times in transition, guys set picks for me, and I was able to get downhill and we were able to get something good most of the night,” Burke said. “It’s just defensively we couldn’t stop them.”

The G-League Player of the Month for December is now having a nice January, though this was the first time Hornacek let him loose.

“You got more guys that need the ball,” Burke said. “In the G-League, it was an opportunity for me to run the team, but [Westchester] needed me to score at a very high level. Tonight, coach trusted me, knew I can be the guy to score as well. My primary focus is to penetrate, get others involved while taking what the defense gives me.”

As a crowd of reporters surrounded Burke, Ntilikina sat alone at his locker. Ntilikina found out Wednesday he’d be heading to Los Angeles for the Rising Stars Challenge — formerly called the Rookie-Sophomore Game. Burke played that game in his first two seasons.

Burke is cognizant this season is all about Ntilikina, too.

“I’m very happy for him,” Burke said. “I played in it two years. I’ll give the young fella some advice. It will be one of the games you’ll be a nervous. It’s a big stage.”