Kenyon Martin didn’t join his teammates in shooting practice Wednesday because of an apparent new wrist injury.
Tuesday night in the visitor’s locker room in Indianapolis, Martin sported either a black soft cast or wrap on his right wrist. Martin, who also has the flu, was nowhere to be found in the gym.
According to a league source, Martin’s protective wrist wear is “precautionary’’ and his sore wrist isn’t considered extensive.
The Knicks didn’t list Martin on the injury report before Thursday night’s Game 5. He had a poor Game 4 and has had a mediocre series against the Pacers, not imposing his will against the burly Pacers as hoped. Thrust into the starting lineup at power forward Tuesday, Martin was scoreless (0-for-3) with five rebounds — none on the offensive glass — in 28:54.
The addition of Amar’e Stoudemire to the rotation could have affected Martin. Stoudemire isn’t a good rebounder and the two haven’t made a good rebounding tandem. Stoudemire, in his second game back, played just 11:17, scored four points, hauled in four rebounds but also committed four fouls and a technical.
Asked if he will stick with the rusty Stoudemire, coach Mike Woodson said, “Stat, he’s only playing 10-12 minutes. He’s played in two games. His minutes have been pretty positive. I just thought last night we got into a shoving war in terms of unnecessary fouls. It was just ridiculous. That’s what put us behind in the second quarter. The shoving, pushing, technicals. Those things have got to be eliminated.’’
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The Knicks were a conference-best 31-10 at the Garden this season. The Pacers are 1-3 at MSG this season.
“It should be a big factor,’’ Woodson said of returning home. “We’ve been pretty good on our floor this season. For them to come in here and try to get a win has got to be tough. We have been tough at home. We secure that game and put the pressure back on them in Game 6.’’
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With the 3-point shooting woes, there was a fan furor over Woodson’s handling of rookie Chris Copeland and Steve Novak.
They are the two purest 3-point shooters on the club. Copeland didn’t play until the third quarter in the Game 4 shellacking and made two of three 3-pointers, playing just 11:52.
Novak was inserted for the final 1:06 of garbage time and made his lone 3-point shot. They represented three of the eight 3-pointers made by the Knicks, who shot a dismal 8-of-28. The Knicks set the NBA record for most 3-point makes this season.
“It’s kind of been a roller-coaster ride with that [in the playoffs],’’ Woodson said. ‘‘[Tuesday] night we took 28 3’s and we didn’t make them. Prior to that, we were struggling to get them up.’’