Knicks’ RJ Barrett finally makes first 3-pointers of season

It took 11 tries and until the third quarter of the third game, but RJ Barrett finally got off the 3-point schneid on Monday night.

Barrett knocked down three second-half 3-pointers and scored 18 of his 20 points after the break to help the Knicks knock off the Magic, 115-102, at the Garden.

“It was going to have to happen eventually,” said Barrett, who had a team-best, plus-22 rating in 38 minutes. “I work on them all the time. My teammates are with me, the whole staff is with me, so when they’re there I gotta shoot them.”

Despite shooting just 1 of 9 in the first half, Barrett didn’t stop looking for his shot, and his teammates didn’t stop giving him the ball.

“It says a lot about our team, struggling in the first half obviously, but the whole team stuck with me, everybody was being positive, and I was able to deliver,” Barrett said. “It shows how our team cares about each other and we try to get everybody involved.”

Coach Tom Thibodeau closed the game with Immanuel Quickley rather than reinserting starter Evan Fournier. The Knicks coach liked Quickley’s performance even though he went scoreless. The third-year guard had eight assists and six rebounds.

“Just the way the game unfolded,” Thibodeau said. “It gave us our best chance.”

The Knicks faced arguably the top rookie in the league Monday night.

Paolo Banchero, the No. 1-overall pick out of Duke, made his professional Garden debut and scored a team-high 21 points in the loss. Banchero was somewhat of a surprise to go No. 1 — Chet Holmgren and Jabari Smith Jr. were considered the favorites. But so far, Banchero has looked the part, averaging 23.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.0 blocks in three games.

“I think he’s really gifted. He has a great feel for the game,” Thibodeau said before the game. “I watched a lot of his games last year, he had tremendous poise and he’s brought that into the NBA. He was NBA-ready coming in.”

Banchero led Duke to the Final Four in his lone year in college. Now he’s hoping to turn around the Magic, which is coming off its ninth losing season in the last 10 years.

Second-year guard Quentin Grimes (sore left foot) remained out.

“He’s doing some things,” Thibodeau said. “So right now it’s just making sure that we’re giving the proper treatment and rest to let everything calm down and go from there.”

Grimes missed almost the entire preseason, played in the final game and felt discomfort the following day. He has yet to return to practice as a full participant.