Miles McBride misses fifth straight game but ‘close’ to Knicks return

SALT LAKE CITY — An encouraging upgrade in his availability status didn’t result in Miles McBride’s return to the Knicks lineup.

The backup guard was listed as questionable but still missed his fifth straight game in the Knicks’ 121-106 loss to the Jazz with what the team is now are calling “patella femoral syndrome” in his left knee.

“He’s out,” Tom Thibodeau said before the game. “He’s close. He’s doing more, but he’s not quite there. We’ll see where he is tomorrow.”

The Knicks’ five-game road trip continues Monday against the Nuggets in Denver, and then concludes with stops in Dallas (Wednesday) and Charlotte (Friday).

McBride, who is averaging 10.7 points in 26.4 minutes as sixth man in 11 appearances off the bench, hasn’t played since a Nov. 13 loss to the Bulls at the Garden.

According to the Mayo Clinic, patella femoral pain syndrome is defined as “pain at the front of the knee, around the kneecap,” and it also is known as “runner’s knee.”

It’s more common in people who run and play sports that involve running and jumping.

After notching at least 30 assists in each of the previous three games — for the first time since 1994 — the Knicks finished with 25 to fail to make it four in a row for the first time since a seven-game streak during the 1979-80 season.

Thibodeau called All-Star forward Lauri Markkanen, who leads the Jazz with 18.8 points per game and scored 34 points Saturday, “a terrific player” before the game.

“Terrific,” Thibodeau said. “Multiple positions, highly skilled. Can shoot it, can put it on the floor, can post, can move without the ball, creates matchup problems. Gets better every year. So he’s very impressive. Everyone liked him I think coming out of college, and he’s proven to be even better than what everyone thought.”

Precious Achiuwa (hamstring) remains out for the Knicks, while rookie forward Kyle Filipowski was out for the Jazz with a sprained right ankle.

Jordan Clarkson (plantar fasciitis), Collin Sexton (finger) and Walker Kessler (hip) also were on Utah’s pregame injury report but were available to play.