#Nerlens Noel ‘did a little bit of everything’ in key Knicks win

Nerlens Noel hauled down his most rebounds in one game with the Knicks on Sunday night, and they needed every one of them.

The Knicks’ starting center with Mitchell Robinson sidelined following foot surgery grabbed 13 boards and added nine points and four blocked shots in a 102-96 win over Toronto at the Garden.

“Just Nerlens, man, all over the floor. Rebounds, blocks, finishing well. He did a little bit of everything,” Julius Randle said after the Knicks’ second straight comeback victory evened their record at 27-27. “We gotta keep going at it. Another big game for him [Monday against the Lakers] and I know he’ll [be ready].”

Noel ranks fourth in the NBA with 2.1 blocked shots per game, despite averaging just 22.9 minutes over his 47 appearances.

Randle gave a one-word response when asked if Monday’s game against the Lakers — who drafted him with the seventh-overall pick out of Kentucky in 2014 — still holds special meaning to him.

“Always,” he said.

A condensed second-half schedule hasn’t afforded the Knicks much time to practice between games; they haven’t held a formal session since March 23 — a string of seven consecutive off-days.

“We talked about it going in at the beginning of the season, whether it would be a regular practice, whether it would be a shoot-around or whether it’s a walk-through in a ballroom or whether it’s a film session,” Tom Thibodeau said. “You have to maximize that time to get the most out of each and every day. So I think that’s the challenge for every team, when the second half of the season came out. You realize it’s a lot of games in a short amount of time. So you have to be aware of how you’re gonna pace your team, also.”

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Center Norvel Pelle is expected to sign a second 10-day contract when eligible Monday. Forward John Henson, also on a 10-day deal, missed his third straight game with a calf issue since signing last Monday. … Fred VanVleet (hip) and OG Anunoby (rest) were out for the Raptors.