CLEVELAND — The Knicks arrived and left Cleveland with the same problem: Their defense is atrocious against the NBA’s best.
Tom Thibodeau’s group was mᴀssacred Friday night by Kenny Atkinson’s high-octane Cavaliers, who made the Knicks look jayvee in a 142-105 laugher.
“You can’t explain it,” Jalen Brunson said. “I’m at a loss for words really.”
The defeat dropped the Knicks to 0-6 this season against the league’s top three teams — the Cavs, Thunder and Celtics — while casting further doubt on their ability to compete with those teams, let alone beat them, in a playoff series.
The Cavaliers sH๏τ 61 percent overall and 51 percent on 37 3-point attempts, scoring 41 in the opening quarter and building a 27-point advantage at halftime.
It didn’t matter that OG Anunoby, the Knicks’ top defender, returned from a five-game absence because of a sprained foot.
Struggling on both ends, Anunoby finished with just five points in 27 minutes and appeared to hurt his foot again in the third quarter as the Cavaliers (46-10) scored more points than the Knicks had allowed in any regulation game this season.
After his team let go of the rope — failing to make any meaningful run after falling into an early deep hole — Thibodeau harped on the lollygagging transition defense. He also asked for greater “resolve.”
Even Thibodeau, who famously is reluctant to wave the white flag, gave up fast by emptying his bench to start the fourth quarter.
“Yeah, from the start, I mean, we didn’t set the tone,” backup guard Miles McBride said. “Dunks, in the paint points, kick-out 3s, pick-and-pop 3s. You name it, they did it to us.
“I think every guy on their team, whether they’re coming off the bench or starting, every guy is a threat. And they play that way. So it’s hard to go against them when anybody can break off and go score or they find a mismatch they like and they attack and they’re playing the right way and kicking out.”
The Cavs are tremendous, but if the Cavs looked extra motivated, it’s because the Knicks helped create the monster that ate them Friday night.
Nearly two years after getting punked by the Knicks in the opening round of the playoffs, Cleveland (46-10) has emerged as the most positively surprising upstart with the NBA’s best record.
And while the Cavs have changed in certain areas — most notably at coach with Atkinson and at the trade ᴅᴇᴀᴅline with DeAndre Hunter — the residual impact of the 2023 gentleman’s sweep remains.
“It definitely humbled us,” Darius Garland said when asked by The Post at All-Star weekend. “But it was definitely a learning experience, and you’re seeing the product of that right now. It definitely helped us a lot.”
Atkinson wasn’t around for the playoff embarrᴀssment but knows it’s a lingering conversation among his players.
“They remember. I’m sure our players remember. They talk about it,” Atkinson said. “It’s not a playoff game [Friday night], but this is a team that took you out. How are you gonna perform against them? Are you gonna be ready for them?”
The Cavs were certainly ready to right that wrong.
They dog-walked the Knicks, who were missing Josh Hart for a second straight game with right knee pain.
