Magic Johnson and Larry Bird had a rivalry before they reached the NBA, a real one that lasted their entire professional careers and, by their own admissions, drove both to greater heights than either might have reached alone. For Frank Ntilikina and Dennis Smith Jr., though, any rivalry is artificial and might not last beyond their rookie seasons.

The artificial part relates to the “rivalry’s” origin – Cleveland’s LeBron James was taking a dig at former Knicks president Phil Jackson when he questioned New York’s selection of Ntilikina ahead of Dallas’ choice Smith. That made Ntilikina collateral damage – but it was enough to fuel comparisons and added focus on any head-to-head matchups between the two rookie guards.

The first of those came Sunday in Dallas, with Marc Berman of the New York Post writing about Ntilikina’s edge in New York’s road victory:

Though on the bench the final four minutes, Ntilikina had a decent outing, scoring seven points, five assists, seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks in his 25 minutes. And when he did defend Smith, he shut him down.

Smith scored 11 points on 5-of-14 shooting in 24:33 and added five assists and two steals. The Knicks passed on Smith in last spring’s and LeBron James claimed they blew it. Not if you watched the game Sunday as Ntilikina’s defense shone through.

“We didn’t play one-on-one a lot during this game, but when we did I think I did a good job containing him,’’ Ntilikina said. ‘He’s very athletic, very good to the rim, explodes above average. So that’s what I wanted to contain. I think I did a pretty good job, so I’m happy for it and looking forward to playing him again.”

…

Smith scored most of his points against Jarrett Jack. “I already knew prior to the game he’s a really good player, he has a bright future, he understands the game, he’s a really good defender,’’ Smith said of Ntilikina. “We didn’t have too many plays of me and him one-on-one, but he’s a really good defender.He found his niche early in the league. It ain’t nothing but respect for him. I’m super excited for him.”

Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said his team was prepared to draft Ntilikina if New York had selected Smith, which should take some of the onus off the Knicks rookie. And since neither New York nor Dallas drafted Donovan Mitchell – the Louisville product whose impact with Utah has been greater than either Ntilikina’s or Smith’s – maybe the artificial rivalry can soon die a very real death.