The Knicks could get an early Christmas present — their starting point guard returning to the lineup.
Raymond Felton told The Post his strained left hamstring is vastly improved and hopes to return Monday in Orlando against the Magic, which would be at the short end of the two-to-three-week timeline he was given after straining his hamstring on Dec. 10.
“I feel better, I feel 100 percent,” the veteran floor general said Thursday night at Basketball City in downtown Manhattan, where he hosted his second annual Felton Holiday Festival. “[I’m] going to get some test coming up the next few days. It’s looking like Monday [when he will return]. That’s what I’m shooting for.”
Felton said he rushed his comeback last time, and it showed, as he struggled.
“I feel good, I feel better than I did last time I was trying to come back,” Felton said. “That was just me wanting to play, wanting to help out my teammates and not really thinking about I should’ve stayed out longer to get this thing healed.”
Felton, who has averaged 10.3 points and 5.2 assists in 16 games this year, understands why the Knicks have been shopping for a point guard, particularly with his recent five-game absence and backup Pablo Prigioni suffering a broken big toe in Monday’s loss to the Wizards. The Knicks were forced to start third-string point guard Beno Udrih in Wednesday’s double-overtime victory over the Bucks. Fourth-stringer Toure’ Murry played 10 minutes and Iman Shumpert saw limited duty at the spot.
“Of course I’m going to say I don’t feel they need to [trade for a point guard], but at the end of the day, it’s not my say so,” Felton said. “I don’t dictate that. Whatever happens, it happens. … If they feel they need to do that I don’t control that.”
In the win over the Bucks, Andre Bargnani nearly cost the Knicks a win, when he took an ill-advised 3-pointer in the first overtime with the Knicks ahead two and just 13.9 seconds remaining. The miss and subsequent rebound enabled the Bucks to force a second overtime. Felton was one of many Knicks on the bench caught on camera showing their shock.
“I think the pictures they done got out there on the Internet shows my reaction,” he said with a laugh. “I don’t know what to say. I can’t explain it. We got past it, we still ended up winning the game. I’m happy with that.”
Felton added: “He might’ve got some abuse. We had some good jokes.”
Felton said he still thinks the Knicks are “for sure” the best team in the Atlantic Division despite their 8-17 record, and it’s just a matter of them getting to full strength.
“I feel like we can be just as good as were last year, if we’re healthy and we understand what we need to do. That’s exactly how we feel.
“No question, I feel that’s what we’ve been missing all year, guys being hurt, guys not being 100 percent. … It’s just a lot of stuff, but we’re not making no excuses. Some games we just stunk it up, plain and simple. But we’re going to gradually get there together.”
Chandler: Leg feels ‘good’
Tyson Chandler’s left leg felt fine the next day.
The Knicks center, who had been out since Nov. 5 with a non-displaced fracture of his right fibula, reported no problems after he logged 36-plus minutes in the team’s double overtime win in Milwaukee over the Bucks Wednesday night.
“I feel good, I actually played better than I thought I would, as far as conditioning-wise,” Chandler said while watching Duke knock off UCLA 80-63 at the Garden. “My leg felt good and we got away with the win, so that was even better.”
Chandler scored nine points on 3-of-4 shooting, went 3-for-4 from the line and had nine rebounds, including several key ones down the stretch of the second overtime. He also had an assist, a steal and three blocked shots.