Knicks’ Andre Drummond bristles after being benched for lack of effort

Andre Drummond was benched and said he didn’t get an explanation. 

“Control what I can control. I can’t do s–t about not playing,” the center said. “All I can do is cheer my teammates on and hope for the best.” 

About midway through the second quarter, Drummond was caught jogging back on defense and was beaten in transition by Orlando center Wendell Carter Jr., leading to an open layup for the Magic in their 111-102 win Sunday at the Garden. 

Brown called a timeout and subbed out Drummond for good. The backup center minutes then went to James Wiseman, who struggled while shooting 0-for-5. 

Drummond said he didn’t know why he was pulled — “You can make the guess for me” — and added that he’s “probably not” owed an explanation. 

The 33-year-old veteran, who was signed in the summer to replace Mitchell Robinson, also played sparingly in Friday’s loss to the Celtics. 

Brown said Drummond will remain the first backup in Tuesday’s game against the Pistons. 

“I felt our transition defense wasn’t good during that time, not just because of [Drummond], but I wanted to go with a change,” Brown said. “Wiseman’s been playing well in practice. I wanted to give him an opportunity and I thought he was pretty good in his first stint [in the first half]. And so I decided to go with him for a second stint. But Andre will go out there as a backup in the next game.” 

Before Sunday’s loss, Brown warned that all the reserve spots are up for grabs. 

“First thing I wanna make clear is we have our starting five. Other than that, anybody can play,” Brown said. “When you’re a backup in this league, that doesn’t mean you’re always gonna be the seventh man or you’re always gonna be the eighth man. 

“No, no, no, no, no, no. It’s competitive. And it’s less so with the starting group if your starting group is established, which ours is, but everybody else after that starting five, I can throw in front of the next guy in a heartbeat.” 

Jose Alvarado sat out Sunday’s game with an ankle sprain. Tyler Kolek played 15 minutes in his spot and went scoreless with nine assists. 

The end of the night also turned somber when Jalen Suggs, the Magic’s starting point guard, appeared to suffer a significant knee injury while driving to the basket. His leg buckled and he collapsed in pain, as teammates huddled around.