The Deuce got loose.
But a chance for an encore on Martin Luther King Jr. Day hinges on Jalen Brunson’s “questionable” availability.
There haven’t been many opportunities for Miles “Deuce” McBride playing behind Brunson, and that was especially true when Immanuel Quickley was also on the roster.
But with Quickley gone via trade and Brunson making a rare appearance on the injury list Saturday, McBride got the ball and ran with it for a career-high 19 points in a career-high 39 minutes during the Knicks’ 106-94 victory in Memphis.
He played the entirety of the second half, when the Knicks took control of the scoreboard against the injury-riddled Grizzlies.
The key was McBride’s shot, which has been spotty during a 2 ¹/₂-season career but fell at a 7-for-10 clip Saturday, including 4-for-7 from beyond the arc.
McBride understood the assignment.
“I knew if we wanted to win, I’d have to be a big part of the scoring,” McBride said. “Jalen obviously scores a lot of points for us. I couldn’t put on my bag, but I felt like I could get the team an extra boost.”
McBride’s hefty contributions could be short-lived, though.
Brunson is again listed as “questionable” for Monday against the Magic with a calf bruise, an injury that doesn’t tend to linger for very long.
Brunson, among the league leaders in total minutes, has missed just one game this season.
It’s a weird professional existence for McBride to train all year for opportunities that will either be fleeting or never come.
But McBride, a second-round pick, hasn’t complained and recently reupped in New York for three years, $13 million.
It helps that he’s among the cheeriest in the Knicks’ locker room, a smiling presence.
“You prepare. In the summer doing a lot of long workouts, a lot of running, just knowing at some point it’s a long season and your name is going to be called,” McBride said.
Although he won’t be logging close to 39 minutes when Brunson is healthy, McBride has — and will continue barring a trade — to replace some of Quickley’s departed playing time.
His 3-point shot is an important indicator of successful shifts, and it’s vastly improved this season at 48 percent — more than 20 percentage points higher than his average from his first two seasons.
However, a telling sign Saturday was the Knicks entrusting Julius Randle to bring up the ball and initiate the offense, rather than McBride.
The overall result was sloppiness with 22 team turnovers, prompting concern the Knicks couldn’t withstand a long-term absence by their starting point guard.
But playmaking isn’t McBride’s role.
At least not now.
His defense gets him on the floor for the roughly 10 minutes to spell Brunson.
McBride hounds the ball.
It’s part of his underrated athleticism.
After all, the 23-year-old was once an elite quarterback prospect in high school, garnering interest from Ohio State and Michigan State.
A bad foot injury as a junior changed that course.
Colleges started pulling their offers — particularly the basketball scholarships — but West Virginia coach Bob Huggins kept the faith and McBride retired his shoulder pads.
“Definitely I miss [football],” McBride said. “Not really what it could have been if I didn’t get injured. But I miss my friends, playing in that, the camaraderie of the football locker room is a lot different. But I don’t have any regrets not playing.”
Whereas once McBride’s athleticism was on display with scrambles and 75-yard throws (he told The Post that was his max in high school), it’s now demonstrated through spectacular dunks in pregame warm-ups.
McBride, just 6-foot-1, said he likes to finish each with a jam worthy of a slam-dunk competition “just to make sure I feel good.”
During a game earlier this month, he converted arguably the most spectacular dunk of any Knick this season, when McBride elevated over three Wizards for a buzzer-beating put-back.
“I’ve caught my fair share of bodies in my high school, college and NBA career,” McBride said with a smile.
It was a tantalizing glimpse of McBride’s potential.
And like Saturday, he has to take advantage of the sporadic chances.
“I got a lot to show,” McBride said. “The more opportunities, the more I could show.”
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