DENVER — In two weeks, Evan Fournier has gone from a Knicks starter to a reserve to being out of the rotation completely.

“How hard is it? It’s not easy. I’ll tell you that,” the 30-year-old Fournier said after recording his first DNP-Coach’s Decision in the Knicks’ win over the Jazz Tuesday night. 

Looking to create more cohesion with his slumping team, coach Tom Thibodeau cut his rotation down to nine. Fournier and Quentin Grimes found themselves on the bench, the two players who were expected to split time at shooting guard watching their teammates rally for the Knicks’ biggest win of the year. 

In Grimes’ case, the decisions can largely be attributed to the sore left foot that has hindered him for most of the early part of the season. The same cannot be said of Fournier, who set a Knicks record for most made 3-pointers in a season last year and is due $18 million this season. On Tuesday morning, Thibodeau told him he wasn’t going to play that night barring something unexpected.

“I mean, you know I always try to put myself in other people’s shoes. Thibs is trying to find a solution,” Fournier said. “I don’t think he made that decision because he [doesn’t] like me or anything like it’s a personal thing. He just wants to win, man. He does whatever he thinks is best. I can argue whether that’s good or not, sure.”

Fournier has struggled this season, averaging 6.9 points and shooting only 34.4 percent from the field in 20 minutes per game. With the Knicks woeful perimeter defense, Fournier’s inability to stay in front of his man became tougher to ignore. The Knicks are being outscored by 8.3 points per 100 possessions when Fournier was on the court. Even before his benching, his time on the court had dwindled. He last logged over 20 minutes in a game on Oct. 30.

The biggest challenge for Fournier is staying ready. He plans to get more work in on game days that he would have otherwise, and prepare like he did as a rookie with the Nuggets, when he appeared in just 38 games. 

“I mean, I’ve got to keep that mindset [this can change] for sure,” he said. “If I’m thinking about staying on the bench for the rest of the season it’s going to be awful. Mindset is always the same: Do your work every day and live [with] the result.”

For one game, cutting down the rotation seemed to galvanize the Knicks. Their defense was better and they beat a team with a winning record for the first time this season. Thibodeau felt there was a better rhythm at both ends of the floor, though it’s uncertain if that was a direct result of just playing nine guys. 

“I don’t know if you can say that. You can say Utah just missed shots or our game plan was good,” Immanuel Quickley said. “It’s only one game, so we’ll see.”