PORTLAND, Ore. — Frank Ntilikina finally made his first NBA start Tuesday night but the opportunity came because of unfortunate circumstances.
The rookie was inserted into the lineup as the starting shooting guard versus the Blazers when Courtney Lee left the team earlier in the day after a death in his family.
Though Ntilikina was drafted as a point guard, he has been playing a lot of shooting guard since the Feb. 8 trade for Emmanuel Mudiay, who was installed as starting point guard after the All-Star break.
“I don’t think there’ll be any nerves, just maybe the first shot,’’ coach Jeff Hornacek said.