Knicks lose to Cavs, still perfect vs. top-tier teams: 0-10

Somewhere at the start of the fourth quarter of their 108-102 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night, the Knicks managed to lock up the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference and secure a first-round matchup with Detroit.

The Knicks (50-31) backed into third place a good 20 minutes before the game was over when the Orlando Magic beat an Indiana Pacers team that was playing without five starters. At about the same time, Milwaukee defeated Detroit, locking the Pistons into sixth place.

The loss to Cleveland (64-17) was a dismal showing for the Knicks, who had been hoping to get their first win against an elite team. The Knicks had led by as many as 23 points in the second quarter, and didn’t lose the lead until the fourth quarter.

Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 27 points. Mikal Bridges contributed 17, and OG Anunoby and Landry Shamet chipped in 15 apiece. Darius Garland led the Cavaliers with 26 points.

The Knicks are now 0-10 against elite teams, having gone 0-2 against Oklahoma City, 0-4 against Cleveland and 0-4 against Boston. Speaking of Boston, the Knicks are now set to meet the Celtics in the second round, provided they can get past a pesky Pistons team that was 3-1 against them this year.

“We’ve got to get it fixed and we got to get it fixed fast,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “We have to play 48 minutes. This has to be changed quickly.”

There is some thought that the Knicks would go the same route as the Pacers and not use their starters.

Instead, Thibodeau played four of his five starters, resting only Karl-Anthony Towns to give his knees a break in the second game of a back-to-back. Cleveland, which has been in first place in the East all season, rested Donovan Mitchell, De’Andre Hunter and Ty Jerome.