Miles McBride was in the midst of a career-best season before going down in January with a core injury.

McBride, of course, ended up missing significant time after undergoing surgery.

The guard was finally able to make his way back to the Knicks late last month, but he only saw limited minutes in five games down the stretch of the regular season.

With New York’s playoff fate locked up, Mike Brown decided to hold out his regulars and give McBride and the rest of the reserves their time to shine in the starting lineup.

“I just wanted him to go out and be aggressive,” the head coach said.

That’s exactly what McBride did, as he led the way for New York's offense with not much firepower on the floor, finishing with 21 points on 8-of-15 from the field and four threes in the loss to the Hornets.

He also reeled in three boards, dished an assist, and had a steal.

“It was great, all the glory to God,” McBride said. “Just being back out there healthy, playing with the guys, it was a great team win -- I just wanted to go out and give it my all, really ramp my intensity up and get ready for this run.”

It certainly was an encouraging showing, as McBride is expected to play a huge role in the Knicks' postseason rotation.

With the rust officially shaken off, he feels ready to go.

“I’m solid,” McBride said. “Being out for some long, just getting my wind back. Dealing with the residual pain of the surgery isn’t fun but it’s part of the journey -- just trying to do everything I can to help the team win.”

New York opens the playoffs with a first round matchup with the Atlanta Hawks.