DALLAS — For however long he plays, Frank Ntilikina is going to be compared to Dennis Smith Jr.
The Knicks drafted Ntilikina with the eighth overall pick in 2017, coveting the lanky French guard's wingspan and defensive ability.
With the ninth pick that same draft, the Mavericks took Dennis Smith Jr. out of North Carolina State.
They're different types of point guards. Ntilikina's contributions don't always show up in the box score while Smith routinely posts double-figure scoring performances.
Those differences were on display Friday night.
Smith scored 23 points with no assists while Ntilikina only had seven points but dished out seven assists as the Knicks beat the Mavericks, 118-106, at American Airlines Center.
The Knicks trailed by three points at halftime but outscored Dallas, 33-18, in the third quarter to take control of the game. The period included a reverse dunk from Mitchell Robinson, who had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
"Definitely now I feel like I'm very comfortable," Robinson said. "It ain't really nothing else to it. Just go out there and work hard."
Ntilikina, who had three steals, didn't need to provide much scoring Friday night, anyway.
The Knicks had seven players finish in double figures, led by Allonzo Trier's 23 points. The undrafted rookie was 8-of-10 from the field.
Tim Hardaway Jr. had 18 points and Enes Kanter had 13 while Damyean Dotson and Mario Hezonja had 11 points each. Lance Thomas finished with 10.
Mavericks rookie Luka Doncic had 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists. The Knicks held DeAndre Jordan to just four points, but he grabbed 10 rebounds.
Ntilikina and Smith, who had six turnovers and four fouls Friday, aren't only going to be compared to each other, but also to Utah Jazz star point guard Donovan Mitchell, last season's Rookie of the Year, and the Sacramento Kings' DeAaron Fox, who posted 31 points, 10 rebounds and 15 assists in a win over the Hawks Thursday night.
Fox was the fifth overall pick in 2017 while Mitchell went 13th.
"I know we’re going to get some comparisons because we’re in the same class," Ntilikina said. "But myself, I’m just competing against whoever I’m going against every night, focusing in on myself and the team."
Smith finished fifth in Rookie of the Year voting last season after averaging 15.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game while shooting 43.1 percent from the field and 31 percent from the perimeter.
He started all 69 games he played.
"Oh, he’s talented," Knicks coach David Fizdale said before the game. "Yeah, he kicked my butt in Memphis as a rookie. Super quick, bouncy, nice looking shot. Super competitive. I think he’s a class kid. He goes about playing the game the right way, but he’s not afraid. They got a good player."
Ntillikina's young career has looked different.
The Knicks have used the 20-year-old in a variety of ways. Ntilikina played mostly off the ball as a rookie, and then Fizdale completely changed course for the first five games this season by starting Ntilikina at small forward.
By doing so, Fizdale said he was trying to take some pressure off Ntilkina.
"I felt it for him as soon as I got the job, mainly from you guys and the fans, of, ‘Frank’s got to be this guy, he’s got to do this," Fizdale said. "I just said, you know what, let’s just pull him away from that for a minute and let him just be a player. I think it gave him some clarity. By taking that off him, just being a wing out there, he saw different things about how the team functions."
When Fizdale again shuffled his lineups for the sixth game of the season, he shifted Ntilikina back to point guard. Ntilkina started to look more comfortable offensively, driving to the basket and showing more confidence from the three-point line.
Still, that part of his game continues to develop.
The comparisons between Ntilikina and Smith are going to continue. They're different types of point guards, each contributing to their respective lineups in different ways.
Ntilikina won the battle Friday night.
Email: iseman@northjersey.com
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