Oh Henry!
In this Knicks season of tanking and auditions, Henry Ellenson, a 2016 Pistons first-round draft bust, entered the mix Tuesday at the Garden against red-hot Orlando.
After Ellenson played a career-high 36-minutes, the Knicks had a 108-103 victory. Ellenson signed a 10-day contract last week. He had been waived by the Pistons on Feb. 8 so they could bring in guard Wayne Ellington. The Knicks pounced, but it was a maneuver that barely caused a ripple.
The Knicks are now 2-0 in games the 6-foot-11, 22-year-old big man from Marquette has appeared. And get this: David Fizdale’s tank machine is 3-1 in its past four outings.
A key part of the Knicks’ rally from 16 points down in the first half and 10 in the fourth quarter, Ellenson hit the game-sealing 3-pointer with 2:11 left that jacked the Knicks lead to 104-100. It capped his surreal evening — 13 points, nine rebounds, five assists, two steals and a postgame oncourt interview with MSG Network’s Rebecca Haarlow.
“This was a lot of fun, knowing how much I’ve gone through just to get here,’’ Ellenson said afterward, surrounded by reporters in the locker room. “Being at the Garden, growing up watching Melo [Carmelo Anthony] as my favorite player. I just want to keep it going. I had one good game. I’ll enjoy it tonight but it’s back to work tomorrow.’’
In his third season with Detroit, Ellenson played just two games and 25 minutes — caught in the vortex of a management/coaching change. Then in one night, Ellenson topped all the minutes new Pistons coach Dwane Casey provided him this season.
“Fantastic minutes,’’ Fizdale said. “I didn’t think I’d play him 36 minutes, but he played so well. [General manager] Scott Perry was telling me about this kid. He was drafted 18th. He’s got the talent but then lost his confidence. Let’s see if we can build him up and see what we have.”
This Knicks season is all about auditions and seeing what they have. Ellenson is in the perfect place.
If the Knicks hit the jackpot and use all their cap space on two superstars this offseason, Perry will have to fill the rest of the roster with minimum contracts. That’s why Ellenson is here.
“He missed his first two shots in practice and then he settled in,’’ Fizdale said. “He was tight and real nervous, his first day there, he threw up a couple of rocks, then he settled in. He battles in the trenches and I think his confidence will continue to grow because I’m going to keep filling him up.’’
After playing four nondescript minutes in Sunday’s victory against the Spurs, Ellenson played the last 19 minutes of the first half Tuesday and closed out the game — a plus-18 as part of the Knicks’ bench brigade that scored 75 points. He was on the court for their entire 30-13 fourth period making a nice tandem with rookie shot-blocking machine Mitchell Robinson.
“Coach Fiz left me in there for awhile in the first half,’’ Ellenson said. “I looked back a couple of times because I didn’t expect it. I can’t tell you the last time I played 36 minutes.’’
That would be at Marquette, where he was a one-and-done, outside-shooting big man whom the Knicks will sign to a second 10-day contract Friday.
His NBA backstory is not so original, drafted by a prior regime in Detroit. Ellenson probably is still a Piston if president/coach Stan Van Gundy didn’t get fired over the summer. Ex-Net executive Ed Stefanski is in charge now.
“If Stan was there, it’d probably be different for me this season,’’ Ellenson told The Post before the game. “The way things worked out, Stan getting fired, a new front office and coaching staff, there was a change of scenery there.
In his 2½ Pistons’ seasons, Ellenson played in just 59 games. What went wrong?
“I’m the 18th pick coming in and had some guys above me. [That] was tough,’’ Ellenson said. “I had Tobias [Harris] and Blake [Griffin] in front of me. Those are two guys — Blake is Blake and Tobias is playing like an All-Star. I learned from them. I got a lot better from them.
“This was a team trying to make the playoffs and I couldn’t crack a spot. I learned a lot from it. The next step for me with the Knicks is to take what I learned my first 2 ½ years and be a professional and come in and show consistency.’’
Ellenson, from a tiny town in northern Wisconsin named Rice Lake, said his top attribute is “versatility.’’
“Being 6-11 and handle the ball, that’s what I do best, handling and shooting,’’ Ellenson said. “Being able to get it off the rim, rebound and go. I feel I could do that at a high level. I just need confidence on the court to do it.”
He certainly showed all of that Tuesday. In the first half, he took a rebound and zipped coast-to-coast for a runner. He buried three 3-pointers and one of his three assists was a lovely bounce pass to former 10-day contract signee John Jenkins for a layup.
A 13-48 tank-of-a-season can, once in a while, feature a fairy-tale night thrown in.
“We’ve won three of four,” Fizdale said, “I’m starting to see them believe they could compete with anyone in the league.”
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